{"id":245531,"date":"2024-10-07T16:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T08:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/?p=245531"},"modified":"2025-06-16T13:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T05:07:11","slug":"solutions-suspensions-why-do-solids-dissolve-faster-in-hot-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/solutions-suspensions-why-do-solids-dissolve-faster-in-hot-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Solutions & Suspensions: Why Do Solids Dissolve Faster In Hot Water Than In Cold Water?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you tried dissolving Milo powder or sugar in water? Was it easier to dissolve them using hot water or cold water?<\/p>\n

It is easier to dissolve them using hot water, right?<\/p>\n

In this Chemistry blog post, we will be discussing why solids dissolve faster in hot water than in cold water by analysing a question from the 2017 Zhonghua Secondary School (ZHSS) S1E SA2 Examination Paper<\/strong> on the topic of Solutions and Suspensions<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also watch our explainer video on The Pique Lab\u2019s YouTube channel for free, by clicking the link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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Read Also:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. [Secondary 1 Science Explainer Video] Solutions & Suspensions: How Does Temperature Affect This Mixture?\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Solutions & Suspensions: How Is Solubility Tested In Chemistry Examinations?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Let’s Take A Look At This Chemistry Question<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Source: Zhonghua Secondary School \u2013 2017 S1E SA2 Examination Paper [Q14]<\/span><\/em>
    <\/p>\n\n

    <\/p>\n

    Thought Process<\/h2>\n
    \n

    \ud83d\udd25 Why Is It Easier To Dissolve Solids In Hot Water?<\/strong> \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n

    The solubility of solids increases as the temperature of the water increases. Therefore, more solids will dissolve in hot water.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Let\u2019s look at the diagram below.<\/p>\n

    \"\"Source: Zhonghua Secondary School \u2013 2017 S1E SA2 Examination Paper [Q14]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

    The solid<\/strong> is also known as the solute<\/strong>. The beaker of water<\/strong> is called the solvent<\/strong>. The resultant mixture<\/strong> formed can either be a solution<\/strong> or a suspension<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    When the solids dissolve into the water, will there be any undissolved solids left in the mixture?<\/p>\n

    No, the mixture will look the same or homogenous. We call this a solution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Let me use this analogy: Let us say that the students are the solids and the classroom is the water.<\/p>\n

    When all solids dissolve in water to form the solution, that is similar to when students enter the classroom. We would not see them outside along the corridors anymore.<\/p>\n

    Similarly, we won\u2019t see any undissolved solids in our beaker of water.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The question says a saturated mixture has formed.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \ud83e\udd5b\u00a0What Is A Saturated Solution? \ud83e\udd5b<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It means that the maximum<\/strong> amount of solid has dissolved in the water.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Going back to our analogy, if the classroom can hold a maximum of 40 students, this means that exactly 40 students have entered the class.<\/p>\n

    What happens if we try to squeeze more students into the classroom?<\/p>\n

    Will they be able to get in? No, they won\u2019t get in and we will see them hanging outside along the corridors.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Similarly, if I have a saturated solution, can I dissolve any more solids into my saturated solution?<\/p>\n

    No. The extra solids can\u2019t dissolve and we will see the undissolved solids settling at the bottom, just like the extra students waiting along the corridors.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Let us go back to the question. What happens if we take the saturated solution that was at 80\u00b0C and was cooled down to 20\u00b0C?<\/p>\n

    Remember that substances contract at a cooler temperature.<\/p>\n

    Going back to our analogy of the classroom \u2014 Imagine the classroom contracting now. Will it hold more or less students?<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    It will hold fewer students because there is less space. Similarly, at lower temperatures, less solids can dissolve in the solution.<\/p>\n

    Remember that the solubility of the solids decreases at lower temperatures.<\/p>\n

    Imagine that the classroom that can originally hold a maximum of 40 students now has shrunk and can only hold a maximum of 10 students. What will happen to the other students?<\/p>\n

    They will have to go outside along the corridors.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Similarly, when you cool down a saturated solution, the cool solution cannot hold as much solute compared to when it is hot.<\/p>\n

    So the excess solute will be kicked out of the solution and start to form crystals, which will settle to the bottom of the beaker.<\/p>\n

    Now, we are looking for some solids at the bottom of a beaker of coloured solution.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    Let’s Analyse Option (1)<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Does option (1) show any solid settling at the bottom of our beaker?<\/p>\n

    No. It just shows a beaker of coloured solution. So, this is not the correct option.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Let’s Analyse Option (2)<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Option (2) shows some solids at the bottom of the beaker of a solution.<\/p>\n

    But if you look carefully, it shows all the solids at the bottom of the beaker. None of them dissolved in the water at all.<\/p>\n

    Using our analogy, this is like all 40 students got kicked out of the classroom. But we should have at least 10 students in the classroom. This eliminates option (2).<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Let’s Analyse Option (3)<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Does option (3) show some solids at the bottom of a coloured solution? Yes, it does!<\/p>\n

    This is in fact our correct answer but let’s just take a look at the final option to understand why it is not the correct answer.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Let’s Analyse Option (4)<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    This is just a beaker of water. Where are all the solids? The solids have disappeared.<\/p>\n

    Remember our analogy? 30 students are kicked out of the classroom to the corridors. I should still be able to see those students. They didn’t disappear.<\/p>\n

    So option (4) shows no solids at all and the solids have disappeared. This cannot be our answer, and this confirms our answer as option number (3).<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Suggested Answer<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Option (3).<\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/h2>\n

    I hope that our analogy of the classroom helped you understand how changing temperature affects the mixture.<\/p>\n

    Remember that substances contract at a cooler temperature.<\/p>\n

    Therefore, fewer students will fit inside a classroom once it shrinks, the same way that fewer solids can dissolve in lower temperatures.<\/p>\n

    Keep a lookout for more Secondary 1 Chemistry blog posts on the topic of Solutions & Suspensions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

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    If you like our methodology, we’ve some upcoming workshops:<\/p>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”geomanist-medium||||||||” text_text_color=”#f44a4a” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”2em” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

    S1 Complete Concept Integration\u2122 Physics Course<\/strong><\/a>
    S1 Complete Concept Integration\u2122 Chemistry Course<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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    In this article, we will be analysing a question on Solutions & Suspensions from the 2017 Zhonghua Secondary School (ZHSS) S1E SA2 Examination Paper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":245533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[68,50,69],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"modified_by":"Jaimie Aberia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245531"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246585,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245531\/revisions\/246585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245531"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=245531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}