Cononsolvency

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cononsolvency

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Cononsolvency?Late 1970s
2. What is the scientific phenomenon?Cononsolvency
3. What is the contrast to cosolvency?Cosolvency involves two poor solvents combining to become a good solvent
4. Why does cononsolvency happen?It happens because the exact mix of the two liquids changes how the polymer interacts with them, and at some special ratios the polymer can no longer stay dissolved.
5. Where can we see cononsolvency?Scientists first saw it in water mixed with alcohols like methanol or ethanol, and now it is found in many other liquid mixes and even in thin film vapors.

Solvent: A liquid capable of dissolving other substances to form a homogeneous solution.
Polymer: A large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of many repeating subunits (monomers).
Cosolvency: The synergistic effect where a mixture of two poor solvents enhances solubility for a solute.
Hydrogen Bonding: A weak attraction between a hydrogen atom in one molecule and an atom in another molecule.