Question

When salt is mixed with water and stirred, the salt will dissolve, forming a solution. When sand is mixed with water, the sand will not dissolve. Why will salt form a solution with water but sand will not?

A) Salt is pulled apart into two ions by the polar water molecules, and sand is not.

B) Sand forms complex crystals which dissolve much more slowly than non-crystalline salt.

C) Salt consists of only 2 atoms and is small enough to dissolve, while sand is too large.

D) Sand is much harder than salt and so it will not form a solution with water.

Answer 1

The correct answer is A) Salt is pulled apart into two ions by the polar water molecules, and sand is not.

This happens because salt has both positive and negative ends that are attracted by the polar molecules of water.