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You will here this type of mixture a lot throughout your scientific carrier. A solution is a type of mixture which doesn’t separate by itself. The molecules are so tiny and spread so evenly through out, that the solution can look transparent. This means the substance has dissolved.


Solutions

These are some terms you need to know.

Soluble - Something that can dissolve into a liquid (like salt).

Insoluble- Something that can not dissolve into a liquid (like oil).

Solvent- The things you mix these into.

Solute - the thing you mix into the solvent.


For example if we add sugar (solute) into water (solvent) and stir it through, eventually the sugar will disappear. This is because the sugar molecules have become so small they can not be seen. The sugar has dissolved.

We can compare solutions based on their concentrations. If only a small amount of solute is added, the solution is described as dilute. If there is a lot of solute it is described as concentrated.

If we add too much solute the solution become saturated. This means that no more of the solute can be dissolved into the solvent.

If you keep adding sugar into water, at some point, no matter how much you stir it, the sugar will not dissolve and sit at the bottom.

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