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How to Increase the Amount of Solute in a Solvent

In the language of chemistry, a solution is made up of a solute -- the substance that is dissolved -- and the solvent -- the substance that does the dissolving. In salt water, for example, salt is the solute and water is the solvent. A simple way to increase the amount of solute in a solvent is to just add more solute to the mixture, but at a certain point the solvent will become saturated and will be unable to dissolve any more solute. At that point, you can still increase the amount of solute by heating the solution.

Things You'll Need

Solute
Solvent
Beaker
Hot plate
Glass rod

Instructions

- 1
  Place the desired quantity of solvent in a beaker. The beaker should be able to tolerate heating; glass or metal beakers are most appropriate.
- 2
  Add solute to the solvent and stir with a glass rod until the solute has all dissolved. Continue adding more solute until it no longer dissolves, but rather stays in the solvent as a solid. The solvent is now saturated and cannot hold any more solute at that temperature.
- 3
  Place the solvent container on a hot plate and turn the plate power setting to a level which produces mild heating. Allow the solvent to heat up while stirring it. The undissolved solute will slowly dissolve as the solvent warms up, thus increasing the amount of solute in the solvent.

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