How Solutions Form 22.1 What is a solution? A solution is a mixture that has the same composition, color, density, and even taste throughout. Hummingbird food is one of many solutions.
How Solutions Form 22.1 Solutes and Solvents To describe a solution, you may say that one substance is dissolved in another. The substance being dissolved is the solute, and the substance doing the dissolving is the solvent. When a solid dissolves in a liquid, the solid is the solute and the liquid is the solvent.
How Substances Dissolve How Solutions Form 22.1 How Substances Dissolve Like the particles of any substance, water molecules are constantly moving. Also, water molecules are polar which means they have a positive area and a negative area. Molecules of sugar are also polar.
How Solutions Form 22.1 Rate of Dissolving Sometimes the rate at which a solute dissolves into a solvent is fast and other times slow. There are several things you can do to speed up the rate of dissolvingstirring, reducing crystal size, and increasing temperature are three of the most effective techniques.
How Solutions Form 22.1 Stirring Stirring a solution speeds up dissolving because it brings more fresh solvent into contact with more solute. The fresh solvent attracts the particles of solute, causing the solid solute to dissolve faster.
How Solutions Form 22.1 Crystal Size Another way to speed the dissolving of a solid in a liquid is to grind large crystals into smaller ones. Large crystals dissolve in water slowly because the amount of surface area is limited. Increasing the amount of surface area by creating smaller particles increases the rate of dissolving.
How Solutions Form 22.1 Temperature Increasing the temperature of a solvent speeds up the movement of its particles. This increase causes more solvent particles to bump into the solute. As a result, solute particles break loose and dissolve faster.
Controlling the Process How Solutions Form 22.1 Controlling the Process Each technique, stirring, crushing, and heating, is known to speed up the rate of dissolving by itself. However, when two or more techniques are combined, the rate of dissolving is even faster. Knowing how much each technique affects the rate will allow you to control the rate of dissolving more precisely.