Solutions Overview and Types

Tyler DeWitt9 minutes read

Solutions involve homogeneous mixtures with evenly distributed parts, contrasting with heterogeneous mixtures like oil and water that do not mix evenly. Solutes, the substances being dissolved, can be solids, liquids, or gases, dissolved in solvents like water to form liquid solutions.

Insights

  • Solutions are mixtures where substances are evenly spread throughout, unlike heterogeneous mixtures where components do not mix uniformly.
  • Within solutions, the solute is the substance getting dissolved, while the solvent is the one doing the dissolving, with examples ranging from sugar in water to antifreeze in seltzer.

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Recent questions

  • What is a solution?

    A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances where the parts are evenly distributed throughout.

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Summary

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Understanding Solutions in Chemistry

  • A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances where the parts are evenly distributed throughout.
  • Solutions are contrasted with heterogeneous mixtures where parts do not mix evenly, like oil and water.
  • Heterogeneous mixtures can be temporarily mixed to form a suspension, but the parts eventually separate out.
  • Solutions have two parts: the solute (substance being dissolved) and the solvent (substance dissolving the solute).
  • Solutes can be solids, liquids, or gases, with examples including sugar and salt dissolved in water, rubbing alcohol, antifreeze, and seltzer.
  • Liquid solutions result from dissolving a solid, gas, or liquid into a liquid solvent, with water being the most common solvent in aqueous solutions.
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