Question

Is a substance that is present in a solution in a smaller amount and is dissolved by the solvent called the solute?

Answer 1

Well, usually..........

Explanation:

The dispersing medium is generally called the solvent, and the stuff in solution, even at high concentration, is called the solute. When we deal with aqueous solutions, the molar concentration of the SOLVENT, the water molecule, is still very high, approx. `>50*mol*L^-1`.

But we can have solutions with other phases. The air we breathe is a solution of dioxygen gas, dinitrogen gas (present in excess), and some smaller concentration of `CO_2`, etc. It is hard to specify the dispersing medium, the solvent, in this case. And `"alloys"` specify a solution in the solid phase. Bronze is an alloy, a solid solution, of copper and tin; brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.