KEY CONCEPT

A solution is a type
of mixture.
BEFORE, you learned

NOW, you will learn

Ionic or covalent bonds hold a

compound together
Chemical reactions produce
chemical changes
Chemical reactions alter the
arrangements of atoms

How a solution differs from

other types of mixtures
About the parts of a solution
How properties of solutions
differ from properties of their
separate components

VOCABULARY

EXPLORE Mixtures

solution p. 111
solute p. 112
solvent p. 112
suspension p. 113

Which substances dissolve in water?

PROCEDURE
1

Pour equal amounts of water into each cup.

2 Pour one spoonful of table salt into one

of the cups. Stir.

3 Pour one spoonful of flour into the other

MATERIALS

tap water
2 clear plastic cups
plastic spoon
table salt
flour

cup. Stir.
4 Record your observations.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Did the salt dissolve? Did the flour dissolve?
How can you tell?

The parts of a solution are mixed evenly.

VOCABULARY
Remember to use the
strategy of your choice.
You might use a four square
diagram for solution.

A mixture is a combination of substances, such as a fruit salad.

The ingredients of any mixture can be physically separated from each
other because they are not chemically changedthey are still the same
substances. Sometimes, however, a mixture is so completely blended
that its ingredients cannot be identified as different substances.
A solution is a type of mixture, called a homogeneous mixture, that
is the same throughout. A solution can be physically separated, but all
portions of a solution have the same properties.
If you stir sand into a glass of water, you can identify the sand as a
separate substance that falls to the bottom of the glass. Sand in water is
a mixture that is not a solution. If you stir sugar into a glass of water,
you cannot identify the sugar as a separate substance. Sugar in water is
a common solution, as are examples such as seawater, gasoline, and the
liquid part of your blood.
Chapter 4: Solutions 111

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reading tip

The words solute and solvent

are both related to the Latin
word solvere, which means
to loosen.

Solutes and Solvents

Like other mixtures, a solution has definite components. A solute
(SAHL-yoot) is a substance that is dissolved to make a solution.
When a solute dissolves, it separates into individual particles. A solvent
is a substance that dissolves a solute. Because a solute dissolves into
individual particles in a solvent, it is not possible to identify the solute
and solvent as different substances when they form a solution.
In a solution of table salt and water, the salt is the solute and the
water is the solvent. In the cells of your body, substances such as
calcium ions and sugar are solutes, and water is the solvent. Water is
the most common and important solvent, but other substances can
also be solvents. For example, if you have ever used an oil-based paint
you know that water will not clean the paintbrushes. Instead, a solvent
like turpentine must be used.
Check Your Reading

What is the difference between a solute and a solvent?

Types of Solutions
Many solutions are made of solids dissolved in liquids. However, solutes,
solvents, and solutions can be gases, liquids, or solids. For example,
oxygen, a gas, is dissolved in seawater. The bubbles in carbonated
drinks come from the release of carbon dioxide gas that was
dissolved in the drink.
Gas Solution
Air is oxygen
and other gases
dissolved in
nitrogen.

Solid Solution
Bronze consists
of tin dissolved
in copper.

Liquid Solution
Water often
contains many
dissolved
substances.

In some solutions, both the solute and the solvent are in the
same physical state. Vinegar, for example, is a solution of acetic
acid in water. In a solution of different liquids, it may be difficult
to say which substance is the solute and which is the solvent.
In general, the substance present in the greater amount is the
solvent. Since there is more water than acetic acid in vinegar,
water is the solvent and acetic acid is the solute.
Although you may usually think of a solution as a liquid,
solid solutions also exist. For example, bronze is a solid
solution in which tin is the solute and copper is the solvent.
Solid solutions are not formed as solids. Instead, the solvent
metal is heated until it melts and becomes a liquid. Then the
solute is added, and the substances are thoroughly mixed
together. When the mixture cools, it is a solid solution.
Solutions made of combinations of gases are also common.
The air you breathe is a solution. Because nitrogen makes up
the largest portion of air, it is the solvent. Other gases present,
such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, are solutes.
When substances in a solution are in the same physical
state, which is the solvent?

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112 Unit: Chemical Interactions

Solutions
How can you separate the parts of a solution?

SKILL FOCUS
Observing

PROCEDURE
1 Draw a solid black circular region 6 cm in diameter around the point of the filter.
2 Place the filter, point up, over the top of the bottle.
3 Squeeze several drops of water onto the point of the filter.
4 Observe the filter once every minute for 10 minutes.

Record your observations.

MATERIALS

black marker
coffee filter
plastic bottle
eyedropper
tap water

TIME
15 minutes

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What happened to the ink on the filter?
Identify, in general, the solutes and the solution in
this investigation.

CHALLENGE Relate your observations of the ink and

water on the coffee filter to the properties of solutions.

Suspensions
When you add flour to water, the mixture turns cloudy, and you cannot
see through it. This mixture is not a solution but a suspension.
In a suspension, the particles are larger than those found in a solution.
Instead of dissolving, these larger particles turn the liquid cloudy.
Sometimes you can separate the components of a suspension by
filtering the mixture.

dissolved particle

suspended particle
solvent

solvent

Solution Dissolved particles cannot

be identified as a substance different
from the solvent.

Suspension Particles that do not

dissolve make a suspension look cloudy.

Chapter 4: Solutions 113

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Solvent and solute particles interact.

The parts of a solutionthat is, the solute and the solventcan be
physically separated because they are not changed into new substances.
However, individual particles of solute and solvent do interact. When a
solid dissolves in a liquid, the particles of the solute are surrounded by
particles of the liquid. The solute particles become evenly distributed
through the solvent.
The way in which a solid compound dissolves in a liquid depends
on the type of bonds in the compound. Ionic compounds such as table
salt (NaCl) split apart into individual ions. When table salt dissolves in
water, the sodium and chloride ions separate, and each ion is surrounded
by water molecules. When a covalent compound such as table sugar
(C12H22O11) dissolves, each molecule stays together and is surrounded
by solvent molecules. The general processes that take place when ionic
compounds dissolve and when covalent compounds dissolve are
shown below.

How Solutes Dissolve

Ionic compounds separate into ions. Covalent compounds
separate into individual molecules.
ionic compound

covalent compound

added to solvent

Ionic Compound Dissolved in Solvent

added to solvent

Covalent Compound Dissolved in Solvent

What difference between the two illustrations tells you

whether a compound is ionic or covalent?

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114 Unit: Chemical Interactions

Properties of solvents change in solutions.

In every solutionsolid, liquid, and gassolutes change the physical
properties of a solvent. Therefore, a solutions physical properties differ
from the physical properties of the pure solvent. The amount of solute
in the solution determines how much the physical properties of the
solvent are changed.

Lowering the Freezing Point

Recall that the freezing point is the temperature at which a liquid
becomes a solid. The freezing point of a liquid solvent decreasesbecomes
lowerwhen a solute is dissolved in it. For example, pure water freezes
at 0C (32F) under normal conditions. When a solute is dissolved in
water, the resulting solution has a freezing point below 0C.
Lowering the freezing point of water can be very useful in winter.
Road crews spread salt on streets and highways during snowstorms
because salt lowers the freezing point of water. When snow mixes with
salt on the roads, a saltwater solution that does not freeze at 0C is
formed. The more salt that is used, the lower the freezing point of
the solution.

reminder

In temperature measurements, C stands for

Celsius and F stands
for Fahrenheit.

Since salt dissolves in the small amount of water usually

present on the surface of ice, it helps to melt any ice already
present on the roads. However, there is a limit to salts effectiveness because there is a limit to how much will dissolve.
No matter how much salt is used, once the temperature goes
below 21C (6F), the melted ice will freeze again.
Check Your Reading

How does the freezing point of a solvent change when a

solute is dissolved in it?

Making ice cream also depends on lowering the freezing

point of a solvent. Most hand-cranked ice cream makers hold
the liquid ice cream ingredients in a canister surrounded by a
mixture of salt and ice. The salt added to the ice lowers the
freezing point of this mixture. This causes the ice
to meltabsorbing heat from its surroundings,
including the ice cream ingredients. The ice
cream mix is chilled while its ingredients are
constantly stirred. As a result, tiny
ice crystals form all at once in the
ice cream mixture instead of a
few crystals forming and growing
larger as the mix freezes. This whole
process helps to make ice cream that
is smooth and creamy.

Adding salt to
lower the freezing
point of ice helps
to make ice cream.

115

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Raising the Boiling Point

The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which the liquid forms
bubbles in its interior and becomes a gas. Under normal conditions,
a substance cannot exist as a liquid at a temperature greater than its
boiling point. However, the boiling point
of a solution is higher than the boiling point
of the pure solvent. Therefore, a solution
can remain a liquid at a higher temperature
than its pure solvent.
For example, the boiling point of pure
water is 100C (212F) under normal
conditions. Saltwater, however, can be a
liquid at temperatures above 100C
because salt raises the boiling point of
water. The amount of salt in the water
determines how much the boiling point
is increased. The more solute that is
dissolved in a solution, the greater the
increase in boiling point.
APPLY Why might the
addition of antifreeze to
the water in this cars
radiator have prevented
the car from overheating?

Check Your Reading

A solute lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point of
the solvent in the solution. The result is that the solute extends the
temperature range in which the solvent remains a liquid. One way in
which both a decrease in freezing point and an increase in boiling
point can be useful in the same solution involves a cars radiator.
Antifreeze, which is mostly a chemical called ethylene glycol, is often
added to the water in the radiator. This solution prevents the water from
freezing in the winter and also keeps it from boiling in the summer.

KEY CONCEPTS

CRITICAL THINKING

1. How is a solution different

from other mixtures?

4. Compare Contrast the way

in which an ionic compound,
such as table salt, dissolves
with the way in which a
covalent compound, such
as sugar, dissolves.

2. Describe the two parts of a

solution. How can you tell
them apart?
3. How does the boiling point
of a solvent change when a
solute is dissolved in it?
How does the freezing
point change?

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How does the boiling point of a solution depend on the amount

of solute in it?

116 Unit: Chemical Interactions

5. Infer Pure water freezes at

0C and boils at 100C. Would
tap water likely freeze and boil
at those exact temperatures?
Why or why not?

CHALLENGE
6. Synthesize People often
sprinkle salt on icy driveways
and sidewalks. Would a substance like flour have a similar
effect on the ice? Explain.