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Solutions can be based on mixtures of various phase combinations.

Solute

liquid

solid

gas

liquid

solid

gas

liquid

solid

Solvent

gas

gas

liquid

liquid

liquid

solid

solid

solid

Name

aerosol,
fog

solid
aerosol

foam,
froth

emulsion

sol,
suspension

solid foam

solid
emulsion

solid
suspension

Example

hair spray

dust

fire
foam

milk

wet cement

insulating
foam

toothpaste

plastics

Phases

One consideration of a solution is whether two substances will be miscible, capable of being
mixed into a homogenous mixture, with one another. A major influence of miscibility is based
on the intermolecular forces involved in the interaction of the solute with the solvent, as well
as the solute and solvent with themselves; this is often expressed by the statement "like dissolves
like". To put it another way, if the solvent and solute interactions are greater than those of the
solvent and solute with themselves, a solution will form.
Maximum solution miscibility is quantified as the solubility, and expressed in terms of
concentration which was previously considered in terms of molarity (M), but may be expressed
in various other units of concentration as given below.

With increasing pressure, the solubility of a gas will increase as shown by Henry's Law where P
is the pressure of the gas, kH is the Henry's Law constant of a given gas, and S is the molar
solubility of the gas:

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In addition to pressure changes, temperature changes will also affect the solubility of a gas.
Increasing temperature will generally cause a decrease in gas solubility because higher
temperature means more kinetic energy for each molecule allowing them to escape into the vapor
phase more readily. Another factor which will be discussed in further detail later is the tendency
of mixing based on the lower energy involved in a more disordered state, this tendency to mix is
called entropy.

Enthalpy of Solution
The energy change associated with forming a solution is a result of three changes:
The change in energy to separate the solute-solute interactions (endothermic)
The change in energy to separate the solvent-solvent interactions (endothermic)
The change in energy due to the interactions between solute and solvent (exothermic)

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The separation of the solute-solute interactions and the mixing of solute and solvent are generally
combined into one term referred to as the enthalpy of hydration.

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