Solution Definition

A homogeneous mixture of solvent and solute molecules is referred to as a solution. In chemistry, a solvent is anything that dissolves another substance by electrochemically pushing its molecules apart from one another. After that, the solute disperses throughout the solvent, resulting in a homogeneous solution. A liquid, solid, or gaseous solution may exist. A solution may also consist of a combination of liquids, gases, and solids. In certain circumstances, such as seawater, the solution contains a wide range of solutes, including salts, oxygen, and organic molecules.

Types of Solution

Polar and Nonpolar Solutions

When a polar solvent dissolves a polar solute, a polar solution is formed. The solvent molecules’ opposed charges combine with the solute molecules’ opposite charges, causing the solute molecules to be distributed all over the solvent. In a polar solution, the bonds are permanently charged, which means they will not change. In the event of a nonpolar solution, this is not the case.

The solvent may dissolve the solute in a nonpolar solution using the same notion of opposing charges acting on each other. Nonpolar molecules, on the other hand, have no charge at all. Instead, electrons may form a cluster on the same side of the molecule on rare occasions. This negative region attracts electrons from nearby molecules, resulting in regions of positive charge. These induced charges churn up the solution and cause the solute molecules to migrate about.

Acid and Basic Solutions

In biological systems, the acidity of a solution is important. If a solution is too acidic or basic, the proteins in a cell will lose their structure and function incorrectly. Most biological systems use water as a solvent, and numerous chemicals may alter the pH of water. Cells consist of a variety of processes in place to keep the acids and bases in their cells in check.

When charged molecules (free radicals) and acidic protons are needed, cells aggressively transfer them out of the cell. Some cells may also make buffers, which are substances that help maintain a solution at a specific pH. The pH scale is used by scientists to determine acidity. This is due to the amount of protons in water. A solution’s acidity is proportional to the number of protons in it.

Examples of Solution

Nutrients in the Soil

Plants require nutrients and minerals from the soil to survive. Plants must spread nutrients through their root membranes to get these nutrients and minerals. This can only happen if the nutrients are dissolved in water. After that, the fluid bathes the roots, allowing proteins buried in the membranes of the roots to transfer nutrition into the cells. More water fills the cells after they acquire the nutrients.

Even in the tallest trees, water and nutrients may travel all the way from the roots to the top leaves using this arrangement. At the leaves, the plant releases water into the air, allowing osmotic pressure to continue pushing nutrients and water up the leaves. All of this is possible because water is a fantastic way to generate the solutions that life requires.

Flower Nectar

Most of the flowers create nectar that attracts pollinators such as bees, birds, and other insects. The solution contains a water-based solvent and a sugar-based solute. A polar solvent is water, while a polar solute is sugar. They form a polar solution when combined. For pollinators, this sugar-water combination offers a readily digested source of nourishment. Bees use the solution to make honey, which is a thicker, more viscous liquid that they use to nourish their offspring.

Hummingbirds and other pollinators consume the solution only for the purpose of obtaining energy. Although sugar bonds seem to be small, they contain a tremendous amount of energy. Even the human body uses glucose as a source of energy. The bulk of the sugar we eat comes from fruits and vegetables, and it’s in a very difficult form for our bodies to absorb.

Related Biology Terms

Solute: The molecules suspended in a solution by the solvent.

Solvent: A solvent is a material or substance that dissolves the molecules of the solute into a solution.

Polarity refers to a molecule’s positive and negative charges, as well as how they interact.

Concentration: In a solution, concentration refers to the quantity of dissolved solute per volume of solvent.

Questions

1. You are drinking a soda. In it, there is sugar, water, and carbon dioxide. Which of these are solutes in this solution?
2. If you’ve ever had a fish tank, you know that bubblers are important. A bubbler is a small device that generates bubbles on the bottom of a tank, and lets them rise to the top. While they rise, the bubbles diffuse oxygen into the water. The fish need this oxygen to survive. If the tank water is the solution, what is the solute and solvent?
3. The concentration of protons dissolved in water is a measure of a solution’s acidity. Scientists developed the pH scale as a quick reference to the amount of protons in a solution. Acids are closer to 0, while basic solutions are closer to 14. Below are the pH numbers of different solutions. Which one has the most dissolved protons?

Answer

1. The water acts as a solvent in this case, distributing and holding the sugar and water. However, after you open a soda, the carbon dioxide will exist in a higher concentration in the soda than it does in the atmosphere. As such, the CO2 has a tendency to leave the can, making your soda go flat. The carbon dioxide can easily diffuse out of the water, because it is not a polar molecule. The sugar on the other hand exists as a dissolved solid and is a polar molecule, and will stay in the solution until the water is boiled off.
2. The oxygen is a polar molecule that can be dissolved by the solvent, water. While “tank water” is the solution, pure water is the solvent. Tank water includes all the dissolved solutes in the tank, including oxygen, minerals, carbon dioxide, and many others.
3. The closer to 0, the more acidic. Therefore, the solution with the lowest number will have the highest proton concentration. Of these, a pH of 4 is the lowest. The solution with a pH of 12 will have almost no free hydrogens compared to the solutions of 4 and 5. However, the solution with a pH of 4 will have many, many more protons than a solution with a pH of 5.