solutes

Solutes are substances that are dissolved in a liquid or another substance to form a solution. When you add sugar to tea or salt to water, those substances are solutes. They evenly disperse throughout the liquid, creating a homogeneous mixture. The amount of solute affects the solution's properties, such as how sweet or salty it tastes, or its concentration. Solutes can be solids, liquids, or gases, and they play essential roles in chemistry, biology, and everyday life by altering the characteristics of the solutions they form.