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Solutions
Solutions
MODULE
SOLUTIONS
1
Overview
You also learned that when different parts of the mixture can be
identified, it is heterogeneous. An example of a heterogeneous mixture is ice
cubes (solid phase) placed in a glass of soft drink (liquid phase). Different
phases can be identified. When all the ice cubes are melted, only one liquid
phase is seen. It is now homogeneous.
Homogeneous mixtures are called solutions. When you put sugar into
water, the solid becomes part of the liquid and cannot be seen. You can say
that the sugar dissolves in water or the sugar is soluble in water. Solutions
may be solids dissolved in liquids or gases dissolved in liquids. There are
also solutions where a gas is dissolved in another gas, a liquid in another
liquid or a solid in another solid. Gaseous, liquid, and solid solutions are all
around you. Many commercial products are sold as solutions.
You noticed that you did not see solid particles or liquid droplets in the
samples of solutions. Most of the solutions, which are in liquid phase, are
colorless.
The solutions that you have observed consist of two components called
the solvent and the solute. Generally, the component present in small
amount is called the solute. The solute and the solvent dissolve in each
other. Usually the solvent is the component present in greater amount. So
in a sugar solution, sugar is the solute and water is the solvent.
Many materials in nature can be used efficiently only when these are
in the form of solutions. For example, plants cannot absorb minerals from
the soil unless these minerals are in solution. Components of food that you
eat goes into solution during digestion. The nutrient particles in solution
can pass through the digestive tract and dissolve in the blood.
Air is a mixture of gases. Dry air consists of about 78% nitrogen, 21%
oxygen, 1% argon, about 1% water vapor, 0.04% carbon dioxide and traces
of argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon. Water vapor is present in
different amounts depending on the location. Air above big bodies of water
contains more water vapor than air above deserts. Humidity is a measure of
the amount of water vapor in air.
Useful solutions are found not only in nature; many solutions are
made for a specific purpose.
Manufactured/Processed Solutions
In the next activity, you will predict what will happen when you mix a
sample solid or liquid in a given volume of water. Investigate to find out if
your predictions are correct. Explain your predictions using the evidence
you have gathered from your investigation.
Activity 2
1. compare the evidence gathered with the predictions you made; and
2. describe the properties of solutions based on observations.
Materials Needed:
6 cups water
6 pieces, spoons
cheesecloth (katsa) or filter paper
2 tablespoons each of the following: sugar, salt, mongo seeds,
powdered juice, cooking oil, vinegar
12 clear bottles or cups
2 pieces each, measuring spoons (½ tsp and 1tsp)
2 pieces each, measuring cups (½ cup and 1cup)
3 funnels or improvised funnel made from 500 mL plastic bottle
1 funnel rack
Procedure:
1. Predict which among the given samples will dissolve in water. Write your
predictions in column 2 of Table 1.
Q1. Describe the mixture that resulted after mixing. Write your answer in
column 3.
Q2. How many phases do you observe? Write your answer in column 4.
Q3. Identify the solute in each of the mixtures. Write your answers in the
blank: ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Q4. In which mixture were you able to separate the components (solute and
solvent) by filtration? Write your observations in column 5 of Table 1.
Q5. Which of the samples are solutions? Write your answer in column 6.
Based on the two activities you have done, can you conclude that
solutions have the following characteristics?
There are other ways of identifying a solution. You will learn these
methods in Grades 8 and 9.
In Activity 3, you will find out how much solute can dissolve in a given
amount of solvent and find out the type of solution based on whether there
is excess solute or not.
At higher grade levels, you will learn more of the detailed processes
that happen when a solute dissolves in a solvent.
Activity 3
Can You Tell the Difference Between Solutions by the
Way They Look?
6 teaspoons sugar
2 cups of water
2 measuring cups (1cup capacity)
2 measuring spoons for the following: ½ tsp
clear, transparent bottle
stirrer
Procedure:
2. To the sugar solution in step #1, add ½ teaspoon sugar, a small portion
at a time and stir the solution to dissolve the sugar. At this point, you
have added 1 teaspoon sugar.
3. Add ½ teaspoon of sugar to the sugar solution in step #2 and stir the
solution. At this point, you have added one and ½ teaspoons of sugar.
4. Continue adding ½ teaspoon sugar to the same cup until the added
sugar no longer dissolves.
Q1. How many teaspoons of sugar did you add to 1 cup of water until the
sugar no longer dissolves? __________
NOTE: In this step, you will observe that there is already excess sugar
which did not dissolve.
Q2. What is the maximum amount of sugar that will completely dissolve
in a cup of water? ____________
From your everyday experience, you observe that there is a limit to the
amount of sugar you can dissolve in a given amount of water. Solubility
changes with temperature. Your solutions in Activity 3 were at room
The following sample problems show you that there is a way to know the
exact ratio of solute to solvent, which specifies the concentration of a
solution.
Sample problem 1
Since rubbing alcohol contains 70% ethyl alcohol, it means that 100
mL of rubbing alcohol contains 70 mL ethyl alcohol. So, the following
calculations show that in 50 mL of rubbing alcohol, there is 35 mL ethyl
alcohol. The water content is most likely more. There is no easy way to
determine but it would be incorrect to say that it has 15 mL water.
70 mL ethyl alcohol
50 mL rubbing alcohol x = 35 mL ethyl alcohol
100 mL rubbing alcohol
Sample problem 2
A one peso coin has a mass of 5.5 grams. How many grams of copper
are in a one peso coin containing 75% copper by mass?
75 g copper
x 5.5 g coin = 4.1 g copper
100 g coin
In Activity 4, you will investigate how the size of the solid being
dissolved affects how fast it dissolves in water.
Activity 4
Size Matters!
2. Identify variables (for example, amount of table salt) that you need to
control in order to have a fair test.
6. What is your conclusion? Does the size of the solid being dissolved affect
the how fast it mixes with water?
8. Based on what you know about dissolving, try to explain your results.
Can you now explain why smaller pieces of salt dissolve faster than
larger ones? You may use an illustration or diagram in your explanation.
Activity 5 will let you investigate how fast coffee or powdered juice
dissolves in cold and in hot water.
Activity 5
How Fast Does Coffee Dissolve in Hot Water? In Cold
Water?
1. Discuss how your group mates how you will do your investigation. Write
your hypothesis in a testable form. Describe a test you could conduct to
find out how fast coffee dissolves in cold and in hot water.
2. Identify variables (for example, amount of amount of coffee) that you need
to control in order to have a fair test.
4. List all the materials you need, including the amount and ask these from
your teacher.
8. List all the materials you need, including the amount and ask these from
your teacher.
10. What is your conclusion? Does coffee dissolve faster in cold or in hot
water? Use the observations and results you recorded to explain your
answer.
11. Does your conclusion support or reject your hypothesis? Explain your
results.
12. What is your conclusion? Does coffee dissolve faster in cold or in hot
water? Use the observations and results you recorded to explain your
answer.
13. Does your conclusion support or reject your hypothesis? Explain your
results.
In Activity 6, you will find out if: (1) sugar dissolves faster in hot than in
cold water, and (2) salt dissolves faster in hot than in cold water.
1. Discuss with your group mates how you will do your investigation.
3. Identify variables (for example, amount of amount of coffee) that you need
to control in order to have a fair test.
5. List all the materials you need, including the amount and ask these from
your teacher.
b. Does salt dissolve faster in hot than in cold water? Explain your
answer, based on your observations from the investigation.
Now that you have completed the activities in this module, you have
learned the properties of a solution, the ways of reporting its concentration,
as well as the effects of stirring, particle size, temperature, and type of
solute on how fast a solid dissolves in water.
While learning about solutions, you also had the chance to gather
information and gain new knowledge through the process of conducting
science investigations. You also learned the importance of identifying the
variables that had to be controlled in order to make a good plan for
measuring and testing the variables you are concerned about.
Brady, J.E. & Senese, F. (2004). Chemistry: Matter and its changes, 4th
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Elvins, C., Jones, D., Lukins, N., Miskin, J., Ross, B., & Sanders, R. (1990).
Chemistry one: Materials, chemistry in everyday life. Port Melbourne,
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Hill, J.W. & Kolb, D.K. (1998). Chemistry for changing times, 8th
edition.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kurtus, Ron (13 January 2006). Mixtures. Retrieved Jan 9, 2012 from
http://www.school-for-champions.com/chemistry/mixtures.htm