Saturation

Many media can absorb (dissolve) a certain volume of a different solute. If the medium has absorbed the maximum volume possible, it has reached saturation. A chemical compound is saturated if every possible bond of its atoms is occupied. It has now reached its lowest energy status and will not react spontaneously with other molecules or atoms. Carbon atoms have 4 valence electrons and can form single, double, or triple bonds. A carbon atoms is considered saturated if every possible bond of the carbon atoms is occupied by another atom so that a total of 4 atoms are directly bonded to the carbon atom.