What does saturated mean at constant temperature?

• A. No more solute can be dissolved at a constant temperature
• B. More solute can be dissolved
• C. The solvent evaporates
• D. The solution becomes a gas

Answer: (A)

At a fixed temperature, there is a maximum amount of solute that can dissolve in a solvent. When that limit is reached, the solution is saturated: the rate at which solute dissolves equals the rate at which it crystallizes out, so no more solute can dissolve. Any extra solute simply remains undissolved as a solid. If you raise the temperature, more solute can generally dissolve; at the current constant temperature, you’ve hit the solubility limit.