What kind of solution is h2o

The link below shows an animation of an ionic compound dissolving in water. The secret is the ability of the polar water molecules to surround the ions and pull them out of the crystal. When the ions are pulled apart in this manner we say the compound has become dissociated or ionized and the ions in the solution are referred to as electrolytes. These ions participate in many important physiological process such as nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction, and regulating water balance, to name a few.

In addition to ionic compounds, compounds bound together with polar covalent bonds also tend to be hydrophilic as well. However, when polar covalent molecules dissolve in water, they do not ionize or separate into smaller particles like ionic compounds do. Sucrose or table sugar C 12 H 22 O 11 is a good example of a polar compound that readily dissolves in water, forming an aqueous solution. Compounds bound together with non-polar covalent bonds tend to be hydrophobic and do not dissolve readily in water.

This is because there are no charged or polar parts to interact with the polar water molecules. Fats and oils are good examples of compounds that are hydrophobic. One of the most important structures in the cells of our bodies is the biological membrane.

These membranes are stabilized by the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions of some special compounds that we will study later. It is often important to know the concentration of the solute in a solution. Some common ways of expressing concentration are straightforward. For example, the normal fasting glucose concentration in the blood is approximately 90 mg glucose per ml of blood. Another fairly simple method is to express the concentration of the solute as a percent solution. This method expresses the concentration as grams of solute per ml of solvent.

For example normal concentration of NaCl in the blood is 0. This means that there are 0. Both of these methods are fairly easy to visualize. However, they are not very precise. A less obvious but more precise method is to express the concentration as the molarity of the solution. First of all, the term molarity means moles of solute per liter of solution.

Eventually, the concentration of "stuff" on either side of them will even out. A fish that lives in salt water will have somewhat salty water inside itself. Put it in freshwater, and the freshwater will, through osmosis, enter the fish, causing its cells to swell, and the fish will die. What will happen to a freshwater fish in the ocean?

The sugar dissolves and the mixture that is now in the cup is made up of a solute the sugar that is dissolved in the solvent the water. The mixture of a solute in a solvent is called a solution. Just like the first cup, the sugar is the solute, and the water is the solvent.

But now you have two mixtures of different solute concentrations. In comparing two solutions of unequal solute concentration, the solution with the higher solute concentration is hypertonic , and the solution with the lower solute concentration is hypotonic. Solutions of equal solute concentration are isotonic. The first sugar solution is hypotonic to the second solution. The second sugar solution is hypertonic to the first. You now add the two solutions to a beaker that has been divided by a semipermeable membrane, with pores that are too small for the sugar molecules to pass through, but are big enough for the water molecules to pass through.

The hypertonic solution is one one side of the membrane and the hypotonic solution on the other. The hypertonic solution has a lower water concentration than the hypotonic solution, so a concentration gradient of water now exists across the membrane. Water molecules will move from the side of higher water concentration to the side of lower concentration until both solutions are isotonic.

At this point, equilibrium is reached. Red blood cells behave the same way see figure below. When red blood cells are in a hypertonic higher concentration solution, water flows out of the cell faster than it comes in.

This results in crenation shriveling of the blood cell. On the other extreme, a red blood cell that is hypotonic lower concentration outside the cell will result in more water flowing into the cell than out.

This results in swelling of the cell and potential hemolysis bursting of the cell. In an isotonic solution, the flow of water in and out of the cell is happening at the same rate. Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower concentration solution i.

Water moves into and out of cells by osmosis. A red blood cell will swell and undergo hemolysis burst when placed in a hypotonic solution. When placed in a hypertonic solution, a red blood cell will lose water and undergo crenation shrivel.

Animal cells tend to do best in an isotonic environment, where the flow of water in and out of the cell is occurring at equal rates. Passive transport is a way that small molecules or ions move across the cell membrane without input of energy by the cell.

The three main kinds of passive transport are diffusion or simple diffusion , osmosis, and facilitated diffusion. Simple diffusion and osmosis do not involve transport proteins.

Compare this to a compound. A compound is a substance that contains two or more different elements with their atoms in a definite ratio. Compounds cannot be separated by physical techniques such as filtering.

The composition is the same throughout. Water will always have two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. If instead the ratio were two hydrogen atoms to two oxygen atoms, then the compound is no longer water H 2 O , it is now hydrogen peroxide H 2 O 2. Elements in a compound are not just mixed together; they are bonded together in a specific way. The properties of a compound are usually very distinct from the properties of the individual elements that make the compound.

For instance, sulfur, a yellow solid, combines with oxygen, an oderless gas, to form sulfur dioxide SO 2 , which is a poisonous, colorless, pungent gas. A solution is a special type of mixture that is homogeneous throughout. This means that the molecules or ions involved are so well mixed that the composition is uniform throughout the mixture.

Think of salt-water. You cannot see salt within the water when it is fully dissolved, not even with the aid of a microscope. This contrasts with a heterogeneous mixture in which you can identify the separate components. For example, a mixture of salt and sand is heterogeneous. A solvent is the component in a solution that is present in the largest amount.

In a NaCl solution salt-water , the solvent is water. A solute is the component in a solution in the lesser amount. In a NaCl solution, the salt is the solute. A solution may contain more than one solute.

There are different types of solutions. The one you are probably most familiar with is the aqueous solution. An aqueous solution is a solution in which water is the solvent. A NaCl solution is an aqueous solution. A non-aqueous solution is a solution in which water is not the solvent. Examples of non-aqueous solutions are solutions used in dry cleaning a solution of ethene in the solvent dichloromethane.

A solid solution is a solution in which a solid is the solvent. An example is a brass solution that is formed by dissolving copper in zinc. So what happens when you drop salt into a glass of water? The water before and after does not look different assuming that all of the salt is dissolved.