Rank the following compounds in order of increasing molar solubility in water at room temperature: AgCl, NaCl, PbSO4.

• A. PbSO4 < AgCl < NaCl
• B. NaCl < PbSO4 < AgCl
• C. NaCl < AgCl < PbSO4
• D. AgCl < PbSO4 < NaCl

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the nature of each compound: NaCl is an ionic salt that is highly soluble in water, while AgCl and PbSO4 are sparingly soluble salts with low solubility in water.
2. Recall that molar solubility refers to the number of moles of a compound that dissolve per liter of solution at equilibrium.
3. Use the solubility product constant (K\_sp) values for each compound to compare their solubilities. The smaller the K\_sp, the lower the molar solubility.
4. Look up or recall approximate K\_sp values: NaCl has a very large K\_sp (highly soluble), AgCl has a low K\_sp (around 10\^{-10}), and PbSO4 has an even lower K\_sp (around 10\^{-8} to 10\^{-9}, depending on source).
5. Rank the compounds from lowest to highest molar solubility based on their K\_sp values: the compound with the smallest K\_sp has the lowest solubility, and the one with the largest K\_sp has the highest solubility.