Sodium acetate/ hot ice?

Question

If you make sodium acetate in a solution and turn it into hot ice, how can you turn it back into a solution?

Answer 1

heat it up.

hot ice forms into crystals due to supersaturation of the salt (sodium acetate) which means more of it is dissolved than normal.  when this is the case, the solution is in unstable equilibrium.  forming crystals is a way for it to return to stable equilibrium.

so if you heat it up, you will make it unstable again.