Which of the following solvents would most effectively dissolve a nonpolar gas like methane?
a polar solvent at 10°C
a polar solvent at 35°C
a nonpolar solvent at 35°C
a nonpolar solvent at 10°C
is it a?
No. Remember that like dissolves like.
so d?
Right. But why not c ?
I remember reading something about nonpolar gases dissolving in colder temperatures
You read right. Gases are more soluble in cold water than in warm water.
To determine which solvent would most effectively dissolve a nonpolar gas like methane, we need to consider the nature of the solvents.
Methane is a nonpolar gas, which means it is composed of molecules with a symmetrical distribution of electron charge. Nonpolar solvents are substances that lack a significant charge separation and therefore do not have a strong ability to dissolve polar substances.
Polar solvents, on the other hand, have a significant separation in electron charge, allowing them to interact with polar molecules or ions. These solvents are not effective at dissolving nonpolar substances like methane.
Given this information, we can eliminate options A and B since they describe polar solvents. This leaves us with options C and D, which both describe nonpolar solvents.
Now, we need to consider the temperature. Generally, the solubility of gases increases with decreasing temperature. Therefore, a lower temperature would favor the dissolution of a nonpolar gas like methane.
Considering this, we can conclude that the most effective solvent for dissolving methane would be a nonpolar solvent at 10°C. Thus, the correct answer would be D.