Is dissolving a solid a physical or chemical change?

Answer 1

it depends on if the solid is also water. if they are both water then its a physical reaction because it just changes the state of matter. if the solid isn't water then its chemical because the two substances then transform into one new substance.

Answer 2

Usually, no. If you dissolve an ionic compound (such as table salt) and the ions dissociate, a chemical reaction has occurred since actual bonds are broken, but if no bonds are broken or made (as happens with many random things you could toss into water), no chemical reaction has occurred.

(One could argue that even ionic compounds like table salt dissolving is not a chemical reaction since you can usually get the same substance back if the water evaporates, but since, for instance, Na+ and Cl- ions have different properties than table salt (one of which being that salt crystals are never part of enzymes and chloride ions sometimes are), it's just as reasonable to portray salt dissolving as a reversible chemical reaction: NaCl ↔ Na+ + Cl-.)

Answer 3

Dissolving a solute in a solvent is considered a physical change, not a chemical change. The main reason for this is that one can recover the solute if one evaporates the solvent, so that means a chemical change has not taken place. If a chemical change takes place, then you cannot recover the original substance in its original form.

Another view. I agree that this is a physical change, but the reason is not reversibility. Many chemical reactions are easy to reverse. Many physical ones are hard to reverse. The only reliable criterion is whether a new substance is formed. There is no new substance in dissolving.

Answer 4

Generally it is a physical change because you still have the same substance. Sugar remains the same molecule when dissolved in water. Fat remains the same when dissolved in oil.

When a molecule of salt dissolves in water it is usually a physical change because if you just evaporate the water you get molecules of the same salt back.

There are cases where the process of dissolving actually includes an element of chemical reaction that causes some molecules to react and allow more of the solute to dissolve. In this case the dissolving is still a physical change, but it is paired with a chemical change to produce the net dissolving effect.

Answer 5

No. Abundantly no.

dissolving is a physical process, it does not modifies the chemical structure of substances

Answer 6

If the solid reacts with the Oxygen or Hydrogen in the water it will be a chemical change. If not, it will be a physical change.

Answer 7

No. When a solute dissolves, it simply mixes with the solvent. No new substance is formed so there is no chemical change. Dissolving is considered a physical change.