Solute and solvent

A solute is the substance that dissolves, while a solvent is the medium in which it dissolves. Usually, the solvent is present in the larger amount and the solute in the smaller amount. Thus both the amount and the dissolving role help identify them; colour, container shape, or temperature alone cannot do so.

Air is a homogeneous mixture of several gases. In a solution, the component present in the largest proportion is generally treated as the solvent, while the smaller components are treated as solutes. Nitrogen forms the largest share of air, so it is considered the main solvent. It is not a solid or water, and it is not the least abundant gas.

In sugar water, salt water, and glucose solution, water is the substance that dissolves the other component, so it acts as the solvent. Air is a mixture of gases, chiefly nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases; water is not its solvent. Therefore, air is the only suitable choice. The question asks where water is not the solvent, not whether water vapour may be present in air.

A solvent is the component that dissolves the other substance and usually forms the larger part of the solution. In salt water, water provides the medium and salt particles spread through it, so water is the solvent. Salt is the solute because it dissolves. The two substances are not both solvents, and a solution must have a solvent.

A solute is the component that dissolves in a solvent. In a salt-and-water solution, salt particles separate and distribute throughout the water, so salt is the solute. Water is the solvent because it provides the medium in which dissolving occurs. Therefore option A is correct. Air and steam are not components of the solution described, so options C and D are irrelevant rather than plausible definitions of solute.

The word aqueous means ‘related to water’. Therefore, an aqueous solution is one in which water acts as the solvent and another substance is dissolved in it. Alcohol, air and mercury can act as solvents in other systems, but their presence would not by itself make a solution aqueous. Hence water is the defining solvent here.

Aqueous means water-based, so a non-aqueous solution is one whose solvent is not water. The solvent may be another liquid or, depending on the system, a substance in another physical state. A non-aqueous solution can contain a solid, liquid, or gas solute; it is not necessarily solid and it must still contain a solute. Hence A is correct.

A solvent is the medium in which the solute dissolves. In many ordinary solutions it is present in the larger amount, although the dissolving role is the key idea rather than amount alone. A solvent can be solid, liquid or gas, so it is not always solid. Colour change and inability to dissolve do not define it.

A solute is the substance that dissolves in a solvent and becomes uniformly distributed through the solution. It may be a solid, liquid, or gas; it is not defined by always being the larger component or always being liquid. A true solution is homogeneous, so the solute does not make it heterogeneous. Therefore option A gives the correct definition.

Water is called the solvent when it acts as the medium in which another substance, the solute, dissolves. The physical change of freezing or becoming a gas does not by itself make water a solvent. Pure water with no dissolved substance is not being described as a solution in this question. Therefore A states the relevant condition.

The substance that dissolves in a solution is called the solute. In many ordinary solutions, it is present in the smaller amount, while the larger amount component provides the medium and is called the solvent. This is a usual rule, not an absolute one in every special case; sediment and alloy do not name the dissolving component.

The solvent is the component that provides the medium in which another substance dissolves. It is commonly present in the larger amount, such as water in salt solution. The solute is the substance being dissolved, while sediment is material that settles and impurity is only a general term, not the proper component name.

A solution is a homogeneous mixture made from two basic components: a solute and a solvent. The solute is the substance that dissolves, while the solvent is the substance that dissolves it and usually forms the larger part of the solution. Sediment, dust, smoke, colour, and smell are not the standard component pair of a solution.

The solute is the substance that dissolves in the solvent and is usually present in the smaller amount. For example, in salt water, salt is the solute and water is the solvent. The solvent is the dissolving medium; an alloy is a type of mixture, and a suspension is a different kind of heterogeneous mixture.

The solvent is usually the component present in greater amount and acts as the medium in which the solute dissolves. In salt water, water is the solvent and salt is the solute. A mixture is the whole combination, while metal is a material category; neither specifically identifies the larger dissolving component.

Sugar is the solute because it dissolves in water. Water provides the liquid medium and is therefore the solvent. Once sugar has dissolved, it may not be visible as separate particles, but it remains present throughout the solution. Water is not the solute in this example, and both substances cannot be solvents simultaneously in this simple description.

The solvent is the component that dissolves the solute and provides the medium for the solution. In this mixture, salt particles spread throughout water, so water is the solvent and salt is the solute. Vapour and gas are not components named in the stated salt-water mixture. Because water is the solvent, the mixture is also called an aqueous solution.

In salt water, salt dissolves in water, so water acts as the solvent and salt is the solute. Because water is the solvent, the mixture is also called an aqueous solution. Brass has a solid metallic medium, air has a gaseous medium, and hydrogen in palladium has solid palladium as the medium, so those options do not fit.

A solution is a homogeneous mixture, so its solute particles are distributed uniformly among the solvent particles. A sample taken from any part has the same composition, within experimental limits. Uneven distribution, surface-only material, or settled material indicates a heterogeneous mixture or suspension, not a true solution.

In soda water, carbon dioxide is present as the substance dissolved under pressure, so it is the solute. Water is the component that dissolves and carries the carbon dioxide and is present in the larger amount, so it is the solvent. The order asked is carbon dioxide first and water second; therefore the correct choice is solute and solvent.

Air is not a single gas; it is a homogeneous mixture containing mainly nitrogen, oxygen and small amounts of other gases. Their uniform distribution makes air a gas-in-gas solution. It is therefore incorrect to say that air contains only oxygen. Solid particles are not its defining component, and air is gaseous rather than liquid.

In the school-level description of a solution, the component present in the larger amount is generally called the solvent, while the smaller amount is called the solute. Under the condition stated, copper is therefore the solid solvent and zinc is the solid solute in brass. Neither settling particles nor precipitate describes this uniform alloy.

The adjective aqueous means that water is present as the solvent. The solute is the substance dissolved in that water, such as salt, sugar, glucose or a gas. Thus water is generally not the solute in an aqueous solution. The other statements are false because aqueous solutions contain water and may be liquid, not always solid.

Soda water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the substance present in the dissolved form, so it is the solute, while water is the solvent. In salt water, water is generally the solvent. Nitrogen, not oxygen, is the major solvent of air, and brass contains solid metals rather than gases.

In a solution or homogeneous mixture, the component present in the greatest amount is commonly treated as the solvent or continuous medium. Nitrogen is the major gas in air, so it is conventionally called the main solvent, while oxygen and other gases are solute components. Its state is gaseous, not liquid, and insolubility is not the reason.