Final answer:
In a sucrose solution, sucrose is the solute that is dissolved while water is the solvent that dissolves the sucrose. This creates a homogeneous mixture called a solution, where the sucrose molecules are uniformly distributed in the water.
Step-by-step explanation:
When sugar (sucrose) is dissolved in water to make a solution, the solute is the substance that is dissolved, and the solvent is the substance that does the dissolving. In this case, the solute is sucrose, which is a covalent solid composed of sucrose molecules, represented by the chemical formula C12H22O11. The solvent is water, which is the majority component of the solution and takes the liquid form in which the sucrose is dissolved.
In the given scenario of making a 10M sucrose solution, the water serves as the medium for the sucrose to disperse in, and the resulting mixture is called a solution because of the even distribution of sucrose molecules throughout the water. The fact that the solution remains as a single phase, and does not have sucrose 'settling out' over time due to gravity, is evidence of a true solution where water is the solvent and sucrose is the solute.