Submitted by ChemPRIME Staff on Thu, 12/16/2010 - 13:48

Up to this point we have discussed only the properties of pure solids and liquids. Of more importance to a chemist, though, are the properties of solutions. Very few chemical reactions involve only pure substances―almost all involve a solution of some sort.

We defined a solution as a homogeneous mixtureA mixture in which all regions have the same composition and state of matter. of two more substances previously, that is, a mixture which appears to be uniform throughout. Under this definition we would refer to sugarA small carbohydrate that either contains five or six carbon atoms or is a dimer of two units, each containing five or six carbon atoms. or saltAn ionic compound that can be formed by replacing the hydrogen ion of an acid with a different cation. dissolved in water as solutions, but we would not apply the term to muddy water or to milk. A close inspection of muddy water reveals that it is not uniform in appearance but consists of small solid particles dispersed in water. We refer to such a mixture as a suspension. Under the microscope, milk can also be seen to be nonuniform, It consists of small drops of milk fatA substance that is an ester of glycerol and three fatty acids; a triglyceride. dispersed throughout an aqueousDescribing a solution in which the solvent is water. phase.

Our definition of a solution in terms of the homogeneity of a mixture is somewhat unsatisfactory since it does not tell us where to draw the line. Field-emission microscopes and electronA negatively charged, sub-atomic particle with charge of 1.602 x 10-19 coulombs and mass of9.109 x 1023 kilograms; electrons have both wave and particle properties; electrons occupy most of the volume of an atom but represent only a tiny fraction of an atom's mass. microscopes have now been developed which can just about ”see” a single atomThe smallest particle of an element that can be involved in chemical combination with another element; an atom consists of protons and neutrons in a tiny, very dense nucleus, surrounded by electrons, which occupy most of its volume.. With such a microscope virtually all matterAnything that occupies space and has mass; contrasted with energy. looks nonuniform and hence not homogeneous. If our definition extends to such microscopes, then true solutions do not exist. In practice we draw the line somewhere around the 5 nanometer (nm) mark, even though some molecules are larger than this.

Suspensions and solutions viewed on the microscopic level. (a) A solution corresponds to a random arrangement of one kind of molecule around the other. (b) In a suspension there are small regions of space where only one kind of molecule exists.

On the molecular level a solution corresponds to the random arrangement of one kind of molecule or ion around another. In the accompanying figure, the illustration on the left corresponds to a solution since each black molecule is randomly surrounded by black and red molecules, and vice versa. The illustration on the right is a suspension. The distribution is not random, and most red molecules have red neighbors, while most black molecules have black neighbors.

Strictly speaking, the term solution applies to any homogeneous mixture, but we will concentrate our discussion on those solutions which involve liquids since these are the most common. It should be realized, though, that other types of solutions also exist. Air is a solution of a large number of gases (oxygen is the most concentratedIncreased the concentration of a mixture or solution (verb). Having a large concentration (adjective).) in another gas (nitrogen). A 5-cent coin is made from an alloyA solid that has metallic properties and is made up of two or more elements. in which one solid (nickel) is dissolved in another (copper). Solutions of hydrogen gas in solid palladium and some other metals are also possible.

As mentioned in the brief discussion of solutions earlier, it is sometimes difficult to decide which component of a solution is the soluteThe substance added to a solvent to make a solution. and which is the solventThe substance to which a solute is added to make a solution.. Usually the amount of solvent is much larger than that of the solute. If the pure components were initially in separate phases (a gas and a solid, for example), the phase corresponding to the state of the solution is taken to be the solvent. In the case of H2(g) and Pd(s) mentioned above, for example, Pd would be the solvent because the solution is a solid phase.