Jill wants to dissolve 30 grams of X in 1 liter of water. She does so by stirring 30 grams of the large crystals into 1 liter of water at 45°C. How could Jill change her method to dissolve all the X faster?

A. She could add the X crystals to the water but refrain from stirring them.
B. She could increase the temperature of the water to 55°C.
C. She could crush the X crystals into a fine powder before adding them to the water.
D. She could reduce the temperature of the water to 35°C.

1 answer

To dissolve a solute faster in a solvent, the following methods are effective: increasing the temperature of the solvent, increasing the surface area of the solute (by crushing it), and stirring the solution.

Let's evaluate the options:

A. She could add the X crystals to the water but refrain from stirring them. - This would actually slow down the dissolution process as stirring helps to distribute the solute in the solvent.

B. She could increase the temperature of the water to 55°C. - Increasing the temperature generally increases the solubility and the kinetic energy of the molecules, which helps dissolve the solute faster.

C. She could crush the X crystals into a fine powder before adding them to the water. - Crushing the crystals increases the surface area, which allows the water to interact with more of the solute at once, speeding up dissolution.

D. She could reduce the temperature of the water to 35°C. - Lowering the temperature would slow down dissolution, as solubility typically decreases with lower temperature.

Therefore, the best methods to increase the rate of dissolution of the solute would be options B and C.

To answer the question focused on how Jill could change her method to dissolve all the X faster, the most effective options are:

B. She could increase the temperature of the water to 55°C.
C. She could crush the X crystals into a fine powder before adding them to the water.

Since the question asks for a single method, option C is particularly effective as it directly targets increasing the surface area of the solute and is more straightforward to implement.

Thus, the best answer is: C. She could crush the X crystals into a fine powder before adding them to the water.