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Virtual Lab
Recall that in our particle model, the forces between different kinds of particles can be different. You are going to try to discover a simple relationship or rule to determine whether a solute will dissolve in a solvent based upon the forces between the particles of the solute and solvent.
To this end, we’ve given you the option of changing the forces that hold the particles of the solute together and the forces between the particles of the solute and solvent in the following model. The forces that hold the particles of the solvent together will remain constant.
The strength of the force between the particles is assigned a number in the table below. The force between particles of the solvent will always have a strength of two units, and the strength of the force between the other two combinations of particles can be any of the following:
1 unit (half the strength of the solvent-solvent forces)
2 units (the same as the strength of the solvent-solvent forces)
4 units (twice the strength of the solvent-solvent forces)
In the real world, we obviously can’t go in and somehow change the strength of the forces between particles. However, we can try to dissolve different substances in water. Any potential solute has forces between its own particles and particles of a potential solvent. Likewise, every potential solvent has forces between its own particles and the particles of a potential solute. On a macroscopic level, this means that each solute will behave differently when placed in any given solvent.
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