MANILA ADVENTIS COLLEGE – GENERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

1975 Donada St, Corner San Juan St, Pasay City

Name: ____________________________ Date: ___________________________

Course, Year Level & Section: __________ Instructor: _______________________

General Chemistry Lab Activity No. ____

Solvents, Solutes and the Dissolution Process

INTRODUCTION

A solvent is a substance that is used to dissolve other substances. For example, water is used to dissolve
salt or sugar or coffee, hence a solvent. Solutes, on the other hand, refer to substances that are added
to solvents in order to be dissolved. So the juice powder and the sugar you dissolve in water to make a
refreshing juice drink are examples of solutes. Finally, the process of dissolving a solute in a solvent is
called dissolution. It means you are actually doing dissolution process whenever you dissolve a juice
powder in water to make a juice drink.

In this lab activity, we are going to do a lot of dissolving, though not to make refreshing juice drinks, but
to satisfy our curiosity about the dissolution process, and to answer the following questions:

1. Can a solvent dissolve any thing that is thrown to it?

2. If it can’t, then do the substances that it dissolves have something in common? And do the
substances it does not dissolve also have something in common?
3. There is a rule of thumb in solubility. “Like dissolves like”. What does it really mean? How can I
take advantage of it to choose the right solvent for a particular solute?
4. Are there substances that can be dissolved by 2 or more different classes of solvents?
5. Aside from dissolving solutes, are there other roles of solvent in our body?

MATERIALS AND CHEMICALS NEEDED

Apparatuses

Small test tubes (20 pcs) Watch glass (or petri dish)
Big test tube (1 pc) Stirring rod
Test tube rack Porcelain spatula
Test tube brush Graduated cylinder
Chemicals

Kerosene Acetic acid

Sodium chloride Oleic acid
Copper (II) sulphate Chloroform
Cooking oil Iodine crystals
Ethanol Citric acid
Amyl alcohol Sodium bicarbonate

Note: kerosene, ethanol and amyl alcohol are highly flammable. Remove any possible source of spark
(like charging of gadgets etc) before doing this activity.

PROCEDURE

A. Comparing the solubility of selected substances to different classes of solvents

1. Prepare 16 small test tubes

2. Number the first 8 test tubes from 1A to 8A respectively. Do the same to the next 8 test
tubes, except that the labels are from 1B to 8B
3. Pour enough water until 1/4 full into each of the set A test tubes. In set B test tubes, pour in
kerosene
4. Add table salt to both 1A and !B test tubes, copper (II) sulphate to both 2A and 2B test
tubes, table sugar to both 3A and 3B test tubes, cooking oil to test tube #4 of both sets,
ethanol to test tube #5 of both sets, N-amyl alcohol to the pair of test tube #6, acetic acid to
test tube #7 of both sets, and finally oleic acid to test tube #8 of both sets.
5. Shake all the test tubes. Let them stand for about 3 minutes, then observe if the solutes
dissolved in the solvents.
6. Record the result in the appropriate table in the data section. Put X inside the box if the
solute does not dissolve in the particular solvent and check if they do.

B. Comparing the solubility of iodine to water vs its solubility to chloroform

1. Prepare one small test tube with half-full water, and another small test tube with half-full of
chloroform
2. Add a small flake of iodine crystals to both, shake vigorously and let them stand for 2
minutes.
3. Observe the solubility of iodine crystals to both solvents. Record the observation in the
appropriate table in the Data section.
4. Prepare a big test tube and pour in both mixtures. Observe the phases and their colors, and
record your observation.
5. After observing it, vigorously shake the big test tube containing the mixture, and let it stand
for a minute. Then observe the phases and their colors. Record your observation.
 C. Role of water on the reaction of substances

1. Put a tablespoonful of dry citric acid in a watch glass, the put a spoonful of dry sodium
bicarbonate.
2. Thoroughly mix the resulting mixture with dry stirring rod, or small stick.
3. For a minute, observe any reaction that may happen with the mixture, and then record your
observation in the appropriate table in the data section.
4. Finally, add about 2 5 mL of water (as solvent) and observe any reaction that may take place
in the mixture. Record your observation.

DATA

Table 1: Comparing the solubility of selected substances to different classes of solvents

Test Water Kerosene

tube #
1 Table salt (sodium chloride)

2 Copper (II) sulphate

3 Table sugar (sucrose)

4 Cooking oil (triacylglyceride)

5 Ethyl alcohol (ethanol)

6 N-amyl alcohol (N-pentanol)

7 Acetic acid (ethanoic acid)

8 Oleic acid

Table 2: Comparing the solubility of iodine to water vs its solubility to chloroform

Before mixing the two solvents

Color Did the solute dissolved in the

solvent?
Water and iodine

Chloroform and iodine

 After mixing the two solvents

Number of phases Color of the phases

Before the thorough mixing

After the thorough mixing

Table 3: Role of water on the reaction of substances

Observation
Before addition of water After addition of water
Citric acid + sodium bicarbonate

DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

A. Interpreting data from Table 1

1. Based on table 1, what substances are soluble in water solvent?
___________________________________________________________________________.
What substances are soluble in kerosene solvent?
___________________________________________________________________________.
2. Given on the attached sheet are the chemical structures of molecular compounds water and
kerosene (a hydrocarbon), and the solutes cooking oil, sucrose, ethanol, amyl alcohol, acetic
acid and oleic acid. Perform structural analysis on each structure and classify each whether
pure polar structure, pure non-polar structure, or amphipathic structure. If amphipathic,
classify further whether the structure is more polar than non-polar, or more non-polar than
polar.

Substance Classification
(pure polar, amphipathic or non-polar)
1 Water

2 Kerosene

3 Cooking oil

4 Sucrose

5 Ethanol

6 Amyl alcohol
 7 Acetic acid

8 Oleic acid

3. Based on data from #1 and #2 steps, what can you say about the substances that dissolved
in water?
___________________________________________________________________________.
How about the substances that dissolved in kerosene?
___________________________________________________________________________.
4. Now, compare the classification of water based on #2 and those that dissolved in it
according to #3, what do they (the solvent water and the solutes that dissolved in it) have in
common?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________.
Do the same for kerosene and the substances that dissolved in it. What do they have in
common?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Based on #5, what do you think by the phrase “like dissolves like”?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6. Sodium chloride and copper (II) sulphate, on the other hand, are ionic compounds. What
are ionic compounds made of?
__________________________________________________________________________.
From your own idea, explain why ionic compounds such as sodium chloride and copper (II)
sulphate dissolve in water but not in kerosene.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

B. Interpreting data from Table 2

1. Does iodine dissolve in water? __________________. How soluble is it in water? Is it

insoluble in water, highly soluble or only slightly soluble? ____________________________
2. Does iodine dissolve in chloroform? ____________________. Is it insoluble in chloroform,
highly soluble or only slightly soluble? ______________________________________
3. Given on the attached paper are the structures of chloroform molecule and iodine (I 2)
molecule. (Iodine as element exists as diatomic molecules). Perform structural analysis on
each structure. Classify each based on the result of structural analysis
 Classification (pure polar, amphipathic or non-polar)
Chloroform

Iodine

4. Explain why 2 phases are formed when water is mixed with chloroform based on the result
of their structural analysis.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Based on the phrase “like dissolves like”, in what solvent is iodine expected to dissolve? Is it
in water or in chloroform? ________________________________________________
6. Why do you think iodine is soluble in chloroform?
___________________________________________________________________________.
Why do you think iodine is also soluble in water?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Explain the change of the color of the water phase and the chloroform phase after the
vigorous shaking/mixing of the mixture.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

C. Interpreting data from Table 3

1. Citric acid is an acid and sodium bicarbonate is a base. They are expected to react to each
other via acid-base neutralization. So was there a chemical reaction that took place when
citiric acid and sodium bicarbonate were mixed? ___________________. Why there was
or why there was none?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Was there a chemical reaction that occurred after the addition of water to the mixture?
______________. What do you think is the role of water in this phenomenon, aside from
being a solvent?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION

1. Can a solvent dissolve any thing that is thrown to it?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

2. If it can’t, then do the substances that it dissolves have something in common? And do the
substances it does not dissolve also have something in common?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

3. There is a rule of thumb in solubility. “Like dissolves like”. What does it really mean by
that? How can I take advantage of it to choose the right solvent for a particular solute?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

4. Are there substances that can be dissolved by 2 or more different classes of solvents?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Aside from dissolving solutes, are there other roles of solvent in our body?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

POST LAB QUESTIONS:

1. Why do solutes dissolve in solvents? What forces are involved in the process of dissolution of
solutes in solvents?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Why do molecules of similar polarity dissolve each other?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. Grease is hydrocarbon. What solvent will you recommend to remove a stain of grease on my
shirt, and why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

4. Illustrate inside the boxes the molecules of the specific mixtures given below. Use colours to
differentiate the molecules of each component of the mixture (Red for table sugar molecules,
blue for water molecules, orange for cooking oil molecules and yellow for margarine molecule)

Table sugar and water table sugar and cooking oil kerosene and cooking oil

"Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 

 Amos3: 3.