Question

1. sodium pentothal, also known as truth serum, is used by the c.i.a. to gather intel from high - profile criminals/terrorists. one way to inconspicuously get the criminal of interest to ingest the serum is to slip it into their drink. sodium pentothal is a compound created chemically combining a metal and a nonmetal. your mom is a cia agent, and you discovered some truth serum from her coat pocket. you suspect that your boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating on you after snooping through their phone. you then have an “aha” moment, and decide to use the truth serum on your boyfriend/girlfriend. to use it, you must slip it into their water bottle without them knowing. once they finish their water, they will tell you their deepest, darkest secrets within 30 minutes. when placed in a water - based liquid, the sodium pentothal compound disappears. a. what type of mixture is formed when the sodium pentothal mixes with water? explain. b. describe how the water causes the truth serum to disappear. use the terms polar, positive ions, negative ions, solute, and solvent in your answer.

Explanation:

Step1: Identify mixture type

When sodium pentothal (solute) dissolves in water (solvent) and disappears, it forms a homogeneous mixture called a solution. This is because the particles of sodium pentothal are evenly distributed at a molecular - ionic level throughout the water.

Step2: Explain dissolution process

Water is a polar molecule. The oxygen atom in water has a partial negative charge and the hydrogen atoms have partial positive charges. Sodium pentothal, being an ionic - like compound (formed from a metal and non - metal), dissociates into positive and negative ions when placed in water. The positive ions of sodium pentothal are attracted to the negative ends (oxygen) of water molecules and the negative ions of sodium pentothal are attracted to the positive ends (hydrogen) of water molecules. This process of ion - dipole interactions causes the sodium pentothal to dissolve and become evenly dispersed in the water, making it seem to disappear.

Answer:

a. A solution (homogeneous mixture).
b. Water is a polar solvent. Sodium pentothal is the solute. When placed in water, it dissociates into positive and negative ions. The partial positive charges on the hydrogen atoms in water attract the negative ions of sodium pentothal, and the partial negative charge on the oxygen atom in water attracts the positive ions of sodium pentothal. These ion - dipole interactions cause the sodium pentothal to dissolve and become evenly distributed in the water, making it seem to disappear.