A student wants to increase the maximum amount of sugar that can dissolve in water. She crushes the sugar and then stirs it into the water. Does this work? Explain why or why not.

The amount of sugar that can dissolve in water increase.

Explanation:

Energy, which is the capacity to do work or produce heat, affects the rate at which a solute will dissolve. Breaking up, crushing or grinding a sugar cube before adding it to water increases the sugar's surface area. The more surface area a solute has, the faster it will dissolve because more particles of the sugar can interact with the water. This means the finer the sugar particles, the faster it will dissolve. The sugar in the middle of a sugar cube is protected from the water by the sugar in the outer layers of the cube; the water has to go through those outer layers first. But if you crush the cube into a powder, all of the sugar is exposed to the water at once.