A major goal of this experiment is to learn how to make predictions about whether or not a substance will be soluble in a given solvent. This is not always easy to do, even for an experienced chemist. However there are some guidelines which will often make it possible for you to make a good guess about the solubilities of compounds in specific solvents. In discussing these guidelines it is helpful to separate the types of solutions we will be looking at into two categories: (1) Solutions in which both the solvent and the solute are covalent (molecular). (2) Ionic solutions in which the solute ionizes and dissociates.