common ion
This situation describes the common ion effect. A common ion is an ion that is in common to both salts in a solution. In the above example, the common ion is Ca 2+ . The common ion effect is a decrease in the solubility of an ionic compound as a result of the addition of a common ion. Adding calcium ion to the saturated solution of calcium sulfate causes additional CaSO 4 to precipitate from the solution, lowering its solubility. The addition of a solution containing sulfate ion, such as potassium sulfate, would result in the same common ion effect.