Dilution help please -?

Question

In a dilution

-the amount of solute and the amount of solven decrease

-the amount of solute remains the same but the amount of solvent increases

-the amount of solvent remains the same but the amount of solute increases

the amount of solute and the amount of solvent increases

A dilution is making a weaker substance from a stronger one by adding some amount of solute to a solvent or solution. However - the answers are confusing me because there comes a point when the solvent cannot dissolve any more solutes.

If I wanted a solution ratio I would divide

If I wanted a concentration I would multiply

Ok - where I am confused is is it asking me to competency in understand the chemical altercation that goes into a dilution? For example, if I add a Goody Power to 2 ounces of water I have weakened the solute and to some degree I have weakened the solvent because of the molecular change

Answer 1

In a dilution, the amount of solute (stuff that's being dissolved) remains the same, but the amount of solvent (the stuff doing the dissolving) increases.  Think about it.  When you dilute something in real life ("water something down"), do you take out the stuff that you're watering down?  No.  You add lots of water.  Water is doing the dissolving, and it's the solvent.

"the answers are confusing me because there comes a point when the solvent cannot dissolve any more solutes."

You're absolutely correct, but that only matters in the opposite direction.  When you're diluting, you're actually LOWERING concentration.  When you increase the amount of solute, you're INCREASING concentration -- concentration is (very not technically defined) as how much "stuff of interest (Kool Aid, Goody Powder, whatever -- solute)" there is in, say, some solvent.  There comes a point where you really can't dissolve more of something in a particular amount of solvent -- this is measured with what is called "solubility."  

The last part I'm not quite understanding.   Are you asking us a question about the mechanism of solvation (that is, how dissolving works), or are you trying to wrap your head around the terms "solvent" and "solute"?  The solvent nor the solute get weakened per se.  It's really a solution that gets more or less concentrated -- and the solution is the solvent AND the solute.

Answer 2

In a dilution, the amount of solvent remains the same but the amount of solute increases.

Dilute means to decrease the concentration of a solution. Concentration is a measure of the amount of solute in a solvent.

For example, to dilute vinegar (a solution made with acetic acid (solute) and water (solute) you add more water.

Your example of adding Goody Powder to water doesn't represent dilution -- Remember that dilution is a term that refers to a solution.

Adding the powder to water allows the solute to dissolve and its particles spread out. So in that respect, if you take a sample of the water there would be fewer particles of Goody in the sample. Again, the original choices are in reference to the dilution of a solution.