Question

White gold is actually an alloy of three metals: 85% gold, 10% nickel and 5% zinc. Based on these concentrations, which metal is considered to be the solvent?

Answer 1

White gold is an alloy. Alloy is a mixture of 2 or more metals. In simple words alloy is a mixture and a mixture consists of solute and solvent. The substance in the mixture is more in amount is called solvent and the less amount is called solute. In the given proportion of the white gold alloy, gold is 85% which is more than other 2 metals. Therefore here, gold is the solvent in which nickel and zinc are added. These are solutes.

Answer 2

Answer: Gold

A solvent is a component of the solution which has ability to dissolve the other component of solution that is solute. The solvent is always present in higher or greater amount in the solution, so as to allow different solute components to dissolve within it. In white gold the concentration of gold is 85%, which is highest than all other components like nickel and zinc. Therefore, gold can be considered as solvent.