Solute vs Solvent

[Aaron Akhavan-Dis1B]

Hi!

What makes something a solvent or a solute? How can we just know? I know that solutes are dissolved in solvents to create a solution such as salt and water, respectively. However, if given two items, how would I know? What makes something soluble I guess?

[Chem_Mod]

A solvent is the dissolving medium, while a solute is the substance being dissolved. Usually you can tell because the solute is present in a smaller amount than the solvent.

[Olivia Smith 2E]

I believe it has to do something with polarity and and the strength of bonds. For example, water is viewed as a universal solvent because it is a highly polar molecule, but has very strong hydrogen bonds that hold it together. Where as a solute such as NaCl is polar, however it is an ionic compound with a relatively weak covalent bond that water can easily pull apart. Based on that thinking, it may be simply based on polarity and the strength of a compound's bond between its molecules in comparison to the said solvent or solute that you are trying to identify. If that makes any sense. Hope it helps tho!

[Kaiya_PT_1H]

I think most of these problems have one solid component and one liquid component, so I would think the easiest way to figure out the solute/solvent in most problems would be to assume the solid being dissolved is the solute and the liquid it's being dissolved in is the solvent.

[Bai Rong Lin 2K]

Hi!

What makes something a solvent or a solute? How can we just know? I know that solutes are dissolved in solvents to create a solution such as salt and water, respectively. However, if given two items, how would I know? What makes something soluble I guess?

Basically, the solvent is the substance being used to dissolve a solute. Therefore, the solute is basically being dissolved in the solvent.

[Chinmayi Mutyala 3H]

Hi!

What makes something a solvent or a solute? How can we just know? I know that solutes are dissolved in solvents to create a solution such as salt and water, respectively. However, if given two items, how would I know? What makes something soluble I guess?

I don't think his questions will go super deep into solubility since we haven't covered that yet so I'm pretty sure it'll either be given or be really obvious (like one component is a solid and the other is liquid).

[105618850]

The solvent is the substance that dissolves the solute. The way I distinguish the solvent from the solute is by referring to water's characteristic as the universal solvent and water is commonly used to dissolve substances.