Nicole Freeman, Mason Buchholz, Cameron Fayant

Mr. Hill
Chemistry, Period 2

Solution Formation Inquiry Lab

Intro
Our goal with these experiments was to test how different factors affected solutions. We
tested different solutions against each other and tried to only change one factor at a time. We
tested different solvents and different surface areas. Our results showed that salt dissolves
faster in water than in isopropyl alcohol and that regular salt dissolved the fastest out of the
different salts we tested.

The factors and hypothesis for each:

Factor 1: Different Solvents
Hypothesis 1: Salt will dissolve faster in water than in isopropyl alcohol because isopropyl
alcohol may not have the positive/negative sides at play that allow salt to dissolve.
Factor 2: Adding oil (may create surface tension or a barrier)
Hypothesis 2: Sugar will dissolve faster in water without vegetable oil than with vegetable oil
because the oil does dissolve a tiny bit into the water, leaving less space for sugar.
Factor 3: Surface Area
Hypothesis 3: Epsom salt will dissolve faster than ice cream salt and regular salt because it has
a smaller surface area.
Factor 4: Temperature
Hypothesis 4: Salt will dissolve faster in hot water faster than it would in cold water because
high kinetic energy is known to speed up processes.

We decided we would test hypothesis #1 and #3 with the following procedures.

Procedures
To test hypothesis #1: Get two small cups. Add 150 mL of room-temperature water to
one and 150 mL of isopropyl alcohol to the other. Add one tablespoon of kosher salt to one and
stir. Record the time it takes to completely dissolve. Repeat with the other cup.

To test hypothesis #3: Get 3 cups and add 150 mL of room-temperature water to each
one. Add one tablespoon of epsom salt to one. Add one tablespoon of ice cream salt to the
other. Add one tablespoon of regular salt to the last cup. Stir and record the time it takes to
completely dissolve for each.

Data Table 1
 Water Isopropyl Alcohol

Time (seconds) 56.91 stopped at 180

Data Table 2
Epsom Salt Ice Cream Salt Regular

Time (seconds) 73 stopped at 370 43.65

Analysis & Discussion

#1: Our hypothesis is correct, except kosher salt did not dissolve in isopropyl alcohol in
any significant amount. We stopped stirring it at 180 seconds since it wasnt making any
progress. The water was about 19 degrees Celsius while the isopropyl alcohol was about 21
degrees Celsius, so there was not a major temperature difference. The chemical makeup of
isopropyl alcohol does not allow salt to dissolve in it. It may or may not have the positive and
negative sides needed for salt to dissolve, but further research would be needed to test that.

#2: Regular salt dissolved the fastest, making our hypothesis incorrect, however this
would be needed to be tested multiple times to really see if it always dissolved faster. Epsom
salt was second fastest, and ice cream salt was the slowest. This could be based on the surface
area, as ice cream salt is the biggest, but it could be based on the different formulas of the salt.
Further testing would be needed.