In a gaseous or liquid solution, is the the volume of the solvent greater to or less than the volume of the solute?

1 Answer
Dec 2, 2016

In liquid solution, the volume of the solvent should be much greater than the volume of the solute.

Explanation:

A liquid solvent can typically solvate bulk quantities of solute WITHOUT the volume of the solution changing too much from that of the parent solvent.

In gaseous solution, i.e. a mixture of two gases, the volume of solvent gas should be precisely the same as the volume of the solute gas. "Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures"Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures assures us that in a gaseous mixture, the partial pressure of each component gas is the same as the pressure it would exert if it alone occupied the container.