Solutions and their types

Solutions are a part of our day to day lives because they can  easily be found in almost everything we use in our daily lives, such as coffee or tea,any juice,bleach and so on. A solution is a type of homogeneous mixture in which two or more substances combine to form a single solution. It can also be described as simple, and its properties may or may not have changed. In this article, we’ll look at different types of solutions. So keep reading to find out more about this.

So, what are the solutions?

Solution is homogeneous mixture containing two or more substances in varying amount.It is said that a mixture is homogeneous if all of its constituent parts come together to form a single phase.Substance with highest concentration is called as solvent while other substances are called as solute.However, the state of the solute makes no difference in the solution as long as they are soluble in the solvent. A solution, for example, can be represented by salt and sugar. A solution can be broken down into several parts.

Solid, liquid, and gaseous solutions can be classified based on the physical states of the solvent and solute.

The following are the characteristics of solutions:

• A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances.
• Filtration will not be able to separate the solute from the solution as the size of the particles are too small that they passes through filter paper.
• A light beam is not deflected when pass through the solution.
• Hence,the particles of the solute inside the solution are not visible with the naked eye as the path of light is blocked.
• A solution is stable and is made up of only one phase.

Different types of solutions

Different types of solutions can be classified based on factors such as the difference between the solute and the solvent, the number of criteria, and so on, as shown below:

1. Various Types of Solutions As a Solvent on Water’s Bases:

Depending on whether the solution is water or not, it can be divided into two types.

• Aqueous Solution: Any state of homogeneous compound completely dissolves in water, with water acting as a solvent. Sugar/salt in water and carbon dioxide in water are examples of this type of solution.
• Non-Aqueous Solution: These solutions are the polar opposite of aqueous solutions in that the solvent used is not water but something else. It can be petrol, benzene, or ether. Phenolphthalein in benzene, sulphur in carbon disulfide, and other similar solutions are examples of this type.

1. Solutions of various kinds Based on the amount of solute added:

On the basis of the amount of solute present in the solution, solutions can be classified into three types.

• A supersaturated solution contains a large amount of solute at a temperature below its melting point, causing the extra solute to crystallise quickly.
• At a given temperature, an unsaturated solution is one in which the solvent can dissolve more solute.
• A saturated solution is one in which a solvent is incapable of dissolving any additional solute at a given temperature.

1. Various types of solutions based on the amount of solvent used:

The solvent and the solute are the two components that make up a solution. The amount of solute added to the solvent determines another classification of the solution.

• Concentrated Solutions: To make concentrated solutions, a large amount of solute is added to the solvent.
• Dilute Solutions: A dilute solution contains a small amount of solute in a large amount of solvent.

1. Various types of solutions based on the amount of solute concentration in two solutions:

The concentration of the solvent in two solvents (in a beaker and a cell in it) in the solution can be classified into three types.

• Hypertonic Solutions: Hypertonic Solutions are those in which the solute concentration in a beaker is higher than that in the cell, causing water to leak out of the cell and also causing the cell to plasmolysis/shrink.
• Hypotonic Solutions: Hypotonic Solutions are those in which the concentration of solute in a beaker is lower than that in the cell, allowing water to enter the cell and cause it to swell and burst.
• Isotonic Solutions: These Isotonic Solutions have the same concentration of solute in both the beaker and the cell, allowing water to flow in both directions around the cell and hence net cancelling the effect.

Conducting and Non-conducting Solutions

Non-conductors and conductors are two types of solutions that differ in their ability to conduct electric current. Non-conductors contain molecules, whereas conductors contain ions.

Electrolytes are substances that dissolve in water and break down to form ions, whereas non-electrolytes are substances that dissolve in water but do not form ions. Electrolytes are ion-forming substances that conduct electric currents in solutions. They are divided into two categories: Strong electrolyte and Weak electrolyte.

• Strong Electrolyte: Strong electrolytes are only available in the form of ions, as they make the light bulb on the conductivity apparatus glow brilliantly. A good example of a strong electrolyte is NaCl.
• Weak Electrolyte: Weak electrolytes are solutions that contain only a few ions, causing the light bulb on the conductivity apparatus to glow dimly. Weak electrolytes are weak acids and bases.

Mixtures

Two or more substances make up a mixture, but they are not chemically combined. On the other hand, the compound is made up of several bonded elements. Consider a salt mixture; when salt is dissolved in water, it forms a mixture, but salts should ideally contain only two components: sodium and chlorine.

Even though there is no chemical bond between water and salt in the mixture, sodium and chloride are bonded together by electrostatic attraction to form sodium chloride. As a result, matter can be divided into three categories: mixtures, compounds, and elements. Mixtures can also be divided into homogeneous and heterogeneous categories.

Solid Solutions:

A solid mixture of substances that is uniform in composition.

Types of solid solutions:

Solid solutions can be divided into two categories: Substitution Solid Solution and Interstitial Solid Solutions.

• Substitutional Solid Solution: When the size of the solute atom and the size of the solvent atom are similar, the solute atoms can replace the solvent atoms to form a substitutional solid solution.
• Interstitial Solid Solutions: If the solute atom is much smaller than the solvent atom, the solute atom can occupy an interstitial position, resulting in an interstitial solid solution. Only atoms with atomic radii less than 1-angstrom form interstitial solid solutions because the space of the lattice structure is limited in size.

Conclusion:

Solutions can be found in almost everything in our daily lives, such as soda, deodorant, sugar, salt, and so on.We’ve learnt what a solution is and its characterstics. We’ve also gone over various types of solutions based on various factors. We now hope that you have a better understanding of the subject.