Looking Ahead:

• Solutions are composed of a solvent and one or more solutes.

• water is called the "universal solvent" because it can dissolve many different kinds of matter.

• the particle theory can be used to explain how a solute dissolves in a solvent.

• "Concentration" describes a solution, and "solubility" describes a solute.

• the skills of scientific inquiry can be used to compare the solubilities of different samples of matter.

• experimentation skills can be used to determine how to increase the rate at which matter dissolves.