60 grams of ethyl alcohol, and 40 grams of H2O form a solution, what are the solute and the solvent
Generally, the the solute is the solid and the solvent is the liquid. In liquid solutions, generally, the solute is the "smaller" one (in volume or mass) and the solvent is the larger volume; however, it really makes no difference as long as everyone knows how the solution is being handled. I would call ethyl alcohol the solvent and water the solute in most cases.
In this case, 60 grams of ethyl alcohol is the solute and 40 grams of H2O (water) is the solvent.
To determine the solute and solvent in a solution, we need to understand the concepts of solute and solvent. A solute is the substance that gets dissolved in a solution, whereas a solvent is the substance that dissolves the solute.
In the given solution of 60 grams of ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) and 40 grams of H2O (water), the solute is ethyl alcohol, and the solvent is water.
To arrive at this answer, we need to know that ethyl alcohol and water are in a homogeneous mixture, meaning they form a solution when combined. Ethyl alcohol is the solute since it is getting dissolved, while water is the solvent since it is doing the dissolving.