The Universal Solvent

Our Brains . . .

1

A solvent is something that

can dissolve something else.

2

Water is sometimes called the universal

solvent because it can dissolve many

other substances.

3

Acetone has also been called a

universal solvent

because it can dissolve oils, alcohol, and

water.4

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Chemists would have a hard time without acetone.

5

Acetone washes things up in the lab.

It mixes with water.

Removes Sharpie marks from the window or from glass, for example.

Acetone is produced in the human body.

It is present in blood and in urine.

People with diabetes produce more of it.

Large amounts of it are not healthy and can lead to death.

6

However, there is no such thing as a

universal solvent because no one

substance is capable of dissolving every

other substance.7

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Soap is a very good solvent because it

dissolves in water and one end of the soap

molecule acts like oils and the other end like

alcohols, so soap is soluble in water, oil, and

alcohol.9

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11

The five senses:

What we see

What we hear

What we taste

What we touch

What we smell