The nature of the solute and solvent determines whether or not they will be able to dissolve. Nature refers to the polarity or type of bond in the substance.

Look at the pictures below. Click on each picture for more information about the solubility.

Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Oil is non-polar, and water is polar. They do not mix because the solute and solvent are not the same polarity.

Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Drink mixes are mixtures that contain sugar, which is polar. Water is polar, so it easily dissolves the drink mix.

Oil and water will not dissolve no matter how much it is stirred and heated. The polar nature of water prevents it from being attracted to the non-polar oil.

If oil does not dissolve in water, the universal solvent, can anything dissolve oil? Copy the table below into your notes. Make your prediction in the first column and watch the video to find out the answer. Then, complete the last two columns of the table.

Interactive popup. Assistance may be required.

Check Your Answer

PREDICTION Can any solvent dissolve oil?	OBSERVATIONS Record evidence from the video.	CONCLUSIONS Does the evidence support your prediction? Explain your answer.
Reasonable predictions can be made such as the following: No solvent can dissolve oil Non-polar solvents can dissolve oil because “like dissolves like”	Oil-based paint doesn’t come off with soap and water Using other household “oils” such as olive oil and baby oil are suggested first Mayonnaise is oil based and can be used to remove oil- based paint Paint thinner can be used to remove oil- based paint	It is shown in the video that oil will not dissolve in water because it is non-polar and water is polar. However, oil does dissolve in other oils because they are non-polar.

For the rest of this lesson, let’s think about the factors that affect how quickly solutes dissolve. Four factors determine how quickly solutes dissolve: temperature, agitation, surface area, and pressure. Not all factors impact all types of solutions. Remember, this will not cause a solute to dissolve in a solvent; it will just change the rate at which the dissolving happens.