A mixture is a combination of two or more substances. For example, salt and sugar are mixed together.
What is a Solution?
A solution is a mixture in which one or more solutes are dissolved in a solvent.
Are are mixtures considered to be solutions?
No. All solutions are mixtures, but not all mixtures are solutions.
What is a Solvent?
The solvent is the substance that does the dissolving. For example, water can dissolve lots of substances. Water is often referred to as the “universal solvent.”
What is a Solute?
The solute is the substance that is dissolved. For example, in salt-water, salt is the solute.
What is the Tyndall Effect?
The Tyndall Effect is a method used to test if a mixture is a true solution by using a flashlight.
If the liquid is a a solution, no beam of light will be observed in the liquid; the entire solution will be illuminated.
If the liquid is a non-solution, a beam of light will be visible going through the mixture.
What does soluble mean?
Soluble means a substance or solute will dissolve into a certain solvent. For example, sugar is soluble in water.
What is Insoluble?
Insoluble describes a substance that will not dissolve into a particular solvent. For example, black pepper is insoluble in water. It does not dissolve in water.
What is suspension?
Suspension describes particles of solute that hang “suspended” in the solute without dissolving.
What is Concentration?
Concentration is the amount of solute dissolved in a given amount of solvent.
What is a Concentrated Solution?
A concentrated solution is a solution with a relatively large amount of solute.
What is a Dilute Solution?
A dilute solution is a solution with a relatively small amount of solute.
What is a Saturated Solution?
A saturated solution is a solution that is holding a maximum amount of solute.
What is a Super-Saturated Solution?
A super-saturated solution is a solution that is holding more solute than the normal maximum, usually due to a temporary condition.
What are some helpful methods of helping a solute to dissolve or dissolve more quickly?
1.) Stir
2.) Shake
3.) Raise the temperature
How can you tell when a solution has reached it’s saturation point?
Even after mixing or shaking, no more solute will dissolve. The extra solute sometimes settles to the bottom of the container holding your solution.
For example, you try to add more salt to salt water, but after shaking and stiring, you realize the no more salt will dissolve. Salt settles to the bottom of your beaker.
How does adding more solute affect the mass of a solution?
Adding more solute adds mass to a solution. As more solute is added, the mass of the solution becomes greater--as the mass of the solution increases, the density of the solution usually increases too.
