What happens when a chemical substance dissolves?

 

               When sugar is stirred into water, it dissolves and forms a solution. This means that the solid sugar molecules have split apart and become distributed equally throughout the water, so that no particles can be seen. The warmer the water, the more sugar can be dissolved into the solution. There are some molecules that do not behave in this way. Fats and oils, for example, will not dissolve in water — they can be seen floating on it —although they will dissolve in some other types of liquid.

               Solutions are not always liquids. Brass is a yellowish metal that is actually a solid solution containing copper and tin.

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