Chemistry Stack Exchange
Chemistry Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [solutions]

This tag should be applied to questions dealing with solutions of any kind. A solution is a liquid or solid phase containing more than one substance where, for convenience, one (or more) substance(s) called the solvent is treated differently from the other substances, which are called solutes. If water is the solvent, then the more appropriate 'aqueous-solution' tag should (also) be specified.

This tag should be applied to questions dealing with solutions of any kind.

Definition

A solution is liquid or solid phase containing more than one substance when for convenience one (or more) substance(s), which is called the solvent, is treated differently from the other substances, which are called solutes.

When, as is often but not necessarily the case, the sum of the mole fractions of solutes is small compared with unity, the solution is called a dilute solution. A superscript attached to the $\infty$ symbol for a property of a solution denotes the property in the limit of infinite dilution. (from the IUPAC Gold Book)

A solution is also often referred to as a mixture of different compounds. The main characteristic is that it consists of only one homogeneous phase.

Examples of solutions:

  • Gases in Liquids
    • Carbon dioxide in water
  • Liquid in Liquids
    • Ethanol in water
  • Solids in Liquids
    • Sodium chloride in water
  • Gases in Solids
    • Hydrogen in Palladium
  • Liquids in Solids
    • Pentane/ Hexane in paraffin wax
  • Solids in Solids
    • Tin in Copper (known as bronze)

Related

  • ideal dilute solution
    • Dilute solution in which the solute may be regarded as obeying Henry's law, so that all the solute activity coefficients may be approximated to 1.
  • saturated solution
    • A solution which has the same concentration of a solute as one that is in equilibrium with undissolved solute at specified values of the temperature and pressure.
  • mixed crystal (solid solution)
    • A crystal containing a second constituent which fits into and is distributed in the lattice of the host crystal. (The use of 'solid solution' for amorphous materials is not recommended.)

Related tags

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Why and how are azeotropes formed?

Why and how are azeotropes formed? I could not find a detailed explanation of how azeotropic mixtures are formed anywhere on the internet. Now, that I figured it out myself, I thought I'd share it.
Arishta
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Limitations of Henry's law

Consider the diagram Henry's law is a gas law that states that the amount of dissolved gas in a liquid is proportional to its partial pressure above the liquid. The proportionality factor is called Henry's law constant. Suppose the weights on the…
Michael Faraday
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How does shock trigger nucleation of gases dissolved in a liquid?

When you drop a bottle of soda, the dissolved $\ce{CO_2}$ starts nucleating. Opening it before it's 'settled' will trigger more nucleation and usually makes a mess. Why does the shock trigger nucleation? Secondly, is it the same mechanism in play…
Ethan Reesor
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Is it possible to have Volume(solution) < Volume(solvent before adding solute)?

I understand the answer to the question "Is it possible to have Volume(solution) < Volume(solvent) + Volume(solute)?" is "yes" -- but it is possible that adding a solute causes the solvent to contract so much that the volume of the solution is less…
zacronos
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Proportion of gases filled in cylinder of sea-divers

In my book it is given that earlier cylinder were filled with 2% oxygen and 98% helium. Nowadays it is filled with 11.7% helium, 56.2% nitrogen and 32.1% oxygen. There are few questions which come up in my mind Earlier 2% oxygen is changed to 32%.…
Freddy
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Difference between solubility and dissolution?

How is solubility different from dissolution? And how are they both different from solvation?
Uzair
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Any other Colligative properties?

Are there any other colligative properties other than lowering of vapor pressure, osmotic pressure, boiling point elevation, and freezing point depression? I was wondering whether surface tension of an aqueous solution is colligative or not, but I…
Pritt says Reinstate Monica
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Deviation from Raoult's law because of adhesive and cohesive forces

A solution made of two or more compounds have adhesive and cohesive forces. Cohesive forces are the attractive forces between the same molecules. Adhesive forces are the attractive forces between different molecules of the solution. A real solution…
Rafique
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The partition coefficient for a chemical species across a membrane

What factors influence the partition factors across a membrane for a chemical species? Wikipedia defines the partition coefficient as: In the physical sciences, a partition-coefficient (P) or distribution-coefficient (D) is the ratio of…
Freeman
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Can a precipitate dissolve upon addition of a diluted acid?

Is it true that precipitates dissolve upon addition of diluted acids? If a precipitates is dissolve , does it disappear from solution , or any thing else happened out there? I am just curious about this. Because I have heard that precipitates…
On the way to success
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why do we obtain a sigmoid curve in vapour pressure versus temperature graph

i have recently got a question in an assignment, which was somewhat like this what would be the shape of curve obtained in a graph between vapour pressure & temperature of a binary solution in a closed vessel generally we do all the experiments…
agha rehan abbas
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Solubility of oxygen in liquid hydrogen; is anything near 1:2 (molar ratio) possible?

In a question on another Stack Exchange site a proposal was forwarded to premix oxygen and hydrogen in the stoichiometric molar ratio of 1:2 to be used as rocket fuel, as opposed to the standard method of storing each liquified gas (LOX, LH2)…
Lex
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In the nonideal solution, why can't one of the solute be positive deviation and the other be negative deviation?

In the nonideal solution, why can't one of the solute be positive deviation and the other be negative deviation? Let's say A and B makes a nonideal solution. The moleculat force between A and B means A-B. Let's say A-A > A-B > B-B. Then A would…
Yun Hoo
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Can Ice Packs Freeze Water at 21 °C?

I receive $120~\mathrm{mL}$ bags of medicine in sterile water. The medicine is refrigerated and then packed with a significant amount of ice packs in an insulated bag. Generally three times the volume of all the medicine. When I remove the ice…
leesir
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Why does coke foam up when I add it to (cold) black coffee (no sugar, no milk)?

Album of the different gifs detailing this situation: Album of coke-coffee related gifs I thought that the answer would be similar to the ice-cream float situation, but I don't see what in the coffee would cause the soda to float. Could it be some…
Nonsingular
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