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Which Is True About The Dissolving Process In Water

The Dissolving Process

Water typically dissolves most ionic compounds and polar molecules. Nonpolar molecules, such as those found in grease or oil, do not dissolve in water. We will first examine the process that occurs when an ionic compound, such as table salt (sodium chloride), dissolves in water.

Water molecules move about continuously due to their kinetic energy. When a crystal of sodium chloride is placed into water, the water’s molecules collide with the crystal lattice. Recall that the crystal lattice is composed of alternating positive and negative ions. Water is attracted to the sodium chloride crystal because water is polar; it has both a positive and a negative end. The positively charged sodium ions in the crystal attract the oxygen end of the water molecules because they are partially negative. The negatively charged chloride ions in the crystal attract the hydrogen end of the water molecules because they are partially positive. The action of the polar water molecules takes the crystal lattice apart (see figure below).

Figure (PageIndex{2}): The process of an ionic sodium chloride crystal being dissolved and hydrated by water.

After coming apart from the crystal, the individual ions are then surrounded by solvent particles in a process called solvation. Note in the figure above that the individual (ce{Na^+}) ions are surrounded by water molecules with the oxygen atom oriented near the positive ion. Likewise, the chloride ions are surrounded by water molecules with the opposite orientation. Hydration is the process of solute particles being surrounded by water molecules arranged in a specific manner. Hydration helps to stabilize aqueous solutions by preventing the positive and negative ions from coming back together and forming a precipitate.

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Table sugar is made of the molecular compound sucrose (left( ce{C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}} right)). Solid sugar consists of individual sugar molecules held together by intermolecular attractive forces. When water dissolves sugar, it separates the individual sugar molecules by disrupting the attractive forces, but it does not break the covalent bonds between the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Dissolved sugar molecules are also hydrated. The hydration shell around a molecule of sucrose is arranged so that its partially negative oxygen atoms are near the partially positive hydrogen atoms in the solvent, and vice versa.

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