Question

A solid is crystalline, has a high melting point and is water soluble. Describe the nature of the solid.

Answer 1

The crystalline solid is ionic in nature. It has strong electrostatic forces of attraction between its ions, which cannot be separated easily.

Crystalline solids have high melting and boiling points, and a large amount of energy is required to break the strong bonding force between ions.

Water is a polar compound, so it decreases the electrostatic forces of attraction in the crystalline solid, resulting in free ions in the aqueous solution. Hence, the solid dissolves.