What is a solute?
2 Answers
A solution is composed of a solute being dissolved in a solvent.
If you make Kool Aid. The powder of Kool Aid crystals are the solute. The water is the solvent and the delicious Kool Aid is the solution.
The solution is created when the particles of the Kool Aid crystals diffuse throughout the water.
The speed of the this diffusion is dependent upon the energy of the solvent and the size of the particles of the solute.
Higher temperatures in the solvent will increase the rate of diffusion.
However, we do not like hot Kool Aid and therefore we increase the energy of the solvent by stirring the mixture adding kinetic energy and moving the particles throughout the solution.
The concentration of the solution is determined by how much solute is dissolved in the solution. You can change the concentration of the Kool Aid by increasing or decreasing the amount of Kool Aid making the drink sweeter more concentrated or less sweet.
But solutions do not only take place in liquids. Have you ever been in an elevator with an individual who has doused themselves in perfume or cologne. In this example the air of the environment acts as the solvent and the cologne or perfume particles are the solute.
I hope this was helpful.
SMARTERTEACHER
