Question

"During an experiment, Robbie poured 100 milligrams (mg) of liquid solvent Y into a beaker and heated it to 75°C. Subsequently, 20 mg of solid solute X was crushed into 1-millimeter (mm) pieces and introduced into the beaker. The mixture was stirred for 1 minute and then left undisturbed for 10 minutes. It was observed that the final solution contained 20% of the solute in the form of an undissolved solid."

Which of the following modifications would have reduced the quantity of undissolved solid at the conclusion of Robbie's experiment?

(1 point)

Stirring the mixture for 3 minutes instead of 1 minute.

Allowing the mixture to rest for 7 minutes rather than 10 minutes.

Increasing the temperature of the solvent to 50°C rather than 75°C.

Crushing the solute into particles of 2 mm instead of 1 mm.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To evaluate which modification would likely reduce the quantity of undissolved solid at the conclusion of Robbie's experiment, let's analyze each option:

1. **Stirring the mixture for 3 minutes instead of 1 minute**: Longer stirring would enhance the interaction between the solvent and solute, likely increasing the dissolution rate of the solute. Therefore, this modification could reduce the amount of undissolved solid.

2. **Allowing the mixture to rest for 7 minutes instead of 10 minutes**: Reducing the resting time may hinder the complete dissolution process since the solute might not have sufficient time to dissolve fully. This is likely to increase the amount of undissolved solid.

3. **Increasing the temperature of the solvent to 50°C rather than 75°C**: A lower temperature could decrease the solubility of solute X, as typically, solubility increases with temperature for solids. This modification would likely lead to more undissolved solid, not less.

4. **Crushing the solute into particles of 2 mm instead of 1 mm**: Larger particle sizes generally dissolve more slowly than smaller particles. This modification would likely increase the amount of undissolved solid, not decrease it.

Based on this analysis, the best modification to reduce the quantity of undissolved solid would be:

**Stirring the mixture for 3 minutes instead of 1 minute.**