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Summaries · Grade 6 Natural Sciences › Solutions and dissolving
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Solutions and dissolving

Solute and solvent, dilute and concentrated, and what makes dissolving faster. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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A solution

A solution is a special mixture in which a substance dissolves completely in a liquid: you can no longer see the dissolved substance, and the liquid is see-through (it can still have a colour). A substance that dissolves is soluble. Rooibos tea with sugar stirred in is a solution. Salt makes a solution; sand is insoluble and stays behind in the filter paper. Filtering cannot take out dissolved salt: get the salt back by letting the water evaporate.

  • Let salt water evaporate very slowly, and small salt cubes form: this is crystallisation.
  • Dissolving is not melting: sugar in tea dissolves (it needs a liquid); butter in a hot pan melts (it needs only heat).
Three glasses of rooibos: dilute, strong and saturated.
Three glasses of rooibos: dilute, strong and saturated.
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Faster dissolving

Do thisWhy
Use hot waterFaster water particles hit the sugar more
StirBrings fresh water to the grains
Use fine grainsMore surface touches the water
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Gases, ice and the climate

  • Water vapour is a gas; in a gas particles move with the least order. Perfume’s smell spreads through the whole room.
  • An ice cube in the sun melts with heat from the Sun.
  • People wrap water pipes with insulation in cold winters, so freezing water cannot burst them: water expands when it freezes.
  • When ice on land near the poles melts, the sea level rises. Global warming makes it happen faster: use less electricity and plant trees.
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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • In sugar water, sugar is the solute and water is the solvent.
  • Water is the universal solvent: it dissolves the most substances.
  • Dilute: a little solute in a lot of water. Concentrated: a lot of solute. Add water to dilute.
  • Saturated: no more solute can dissolve.
  • Faster dissolving: hot water, stirring and fine grains.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

The solute is the sugar (the guest), the solvent is the water (the host).

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

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