Final answer:
The best concentration of salt to use for dehydrating meat is 10%, as it exerts the highest osmotic pressure which effectively draws water out of the meat. This principle is also reflected in culinary practices such as piercing sausages before boiling to prevent them from bursting due to osmotic pressure build-up.
Step-by-step explanation:
To dehydrate a piece of meat using solutions of varying salt concentrations, the best concentration to use would be the one that creates the highest osmotic pressure, thereby drawing the most water out of the meat. Considering the options given, the highest concentration provided is 10%, which would therefore exert the highest osmotic pressure. The effectiveness of salt in dehydrating meat is due to its ability to lower the water activity within the meat, which is a measure of the water available for microbial growth and chemical reactions. Higher concentrations of salt will reduce water activity more effectively, making the meat less prone to spoilage and drying it more quickly.
For example, when calculating the osmotic pressure inside a sausage with a concentration of 0.80 M dissolved particles at 100°C, the pressure would be substantial. This is why cooks pierce sausages before boiling; to prevent them from bursting due to the internal pressure build-up caused by heating the sausage in water.
In the context of osmotic pressure and salt concentrations, if we consider the given examples of solutions and their concentrations, the solution with the highest concentration of dissociated ions will exert the highest osmotic pressure. For instance, a 0.1 M CaCl2 solution will have a higher osmotic pressure than a 0.1 M HCl solution because CaCl2 dissociates into three ions (one calcium and two chloride ions), whereas HCl dissociates into only two ions (one hydrogen and one chloride ion).