How strong is the sharbat? Concentration of a solution
Dissolve sugar in water to make sharbat. Change the grams of sugar and water, find the mass per cent, and see that different amounts can make solutions of the same strength.
Core concept
The concentration of a solution by mass is mass of solute ÷ mass of solution × 100, where the solution is the solute plus the solvent; more solute or less water makes it stronger
Topic: Matter: mixtures and solutions
A solution: A mixture where one substance has dissolved completely in a liquid, like salt water. All key words is a mixture: Two or more substances mixed together, which can be separated again. All key words in which one substance, the solute: The substance that dissolves, like the salt in salt water. All key words (like sugar or salt), dissolve: To mix into a liquid so completely that you can no longer see the pieces. All key words completely in another, the solvent: The liquid that something dissolves in, like the water in salt water. All key words (usually water). The concentration tells how much solute there is in the solution. One way to give it is the mass: How much matter something has, measured in grams or kilograms. It is the same everywhere. All key words per cent: mass of solute ÷ mass of solution × 100, where the mass of the solution is the solute plus the solvent. Remember to add the solute to the water before dividing. A sharbat with 20 g of sugar in 80 g of water is 20 ÷ 100 × 100 = 20 per cent sugar. Adding more water dilutes it; adding more sugar makes it more concentrated.
What you will learn
- Name the solute, the solvent and the solution.
- Calculate the concentration of a solution as a mass per cent.
- Explain how dilution changes the concentration.
Before you start
- Know how to find a percentage.
Materials
- Sugar, water, glasses and a spoon
Equipment
- A kitchen balance
Procedure
- Record 20 g of sugar in 80 g of water.
- Add water up to 400 g and record.
- Make a bigger batch of the same strength: 50 g of sugar in 200 g of water.
- Make a small cup of the same strength: 10 g of sugar in 40 g of water.
How this simulation is simplified
- All the sugar dissolves, and no water evaporates.