Gizmo Student exploration feel the heat if a solute has really strong bonds between its particles , would you expect it to form a solution that gets hot or cold?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
When a solute has very strong bonds between its particles, it is likely to form a solution that gets cold when it dissolves. This is due to the nature of the interactions between the solute and solvent particles.
Here’s the reasoning:
- Breaking of Bonds: The process of dissolving a solute in a solvent involves breaking the bonds between the solute particles (e.g., in ionic or covalent solids) and forming new interactions between the solute and solvent particles. For substances with strong bonds, a significant amount of energy is required to break these bonds.
- Endothermic Process: When a solute has strong intermolecular forces or ionic bonds, the energy needed to overcome these forces during dissolution is usually greater than the energy released by the formation of solute-solvent interactions. As a result, the process is endothermic, meaning it absorbs heat from the surroundings, causing the solution to cool down.
- Example: Consider the dissolution of an ionic compound like NaCl in water. While water molecules are attracted to the ions, the strong ionic bonds between Na+ and Cl- ions require considerable energy to break. In this case, the overall process results in a slight decrease in temperature because more energy is consumed to break the bonds than is released.
- Conclusion: If a solute has really strong bonds between its particles, the solution will typically absorb energy (heat) from the surroundings, leading to a temperature decrease, or it will feel cold. This is the opposite of an exothermic dissolution, where the formation of bonds releases more energy than is consumed, causing the solution to heat up.
Thus, the dissolution of solutes with strong internal bonds will usually result in a cooling effect.
