The equilibrium constant for dissolution in water of a nonionic compound, such as diethyl ether (CH₃CH₂OCH₂CH₃), can be written

At low ionic strength, γ = 1 for neutral compounds. At high ionic strength, most neutral molecules can be salted out of aqueous solution. That is, when a high concentration (typically > 1 M) of a salt such as NaCl is added to an aqueous solution, neutral molecules usually become less soluble. Does the activity coefficient, γ_ether, increase or decrease at high ionic strength?

ether(1) ether(aq) K = [ether(aq)lYether