The correct answer is b) solute.
When sodium chloride (NaCl), commonly known as table salt, is added to water and dissolves, it breaks down into its individual sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl–) ions. In this process, the water acts as the solvent, which is the substance that does the dissolving. Sodium chloride, in this case, is the solute, which is the substance that is being dissolved. The resulting mixture of water and dissolved sodium chloride is called a solution.
To summarize:
- Solvent: The substance that dissolves another substance (water in this case).
- Solute: The substance that gets dissolved (sodium chloride).
- Solution: The homogeneous mixture formed (water + dissolved sodium chloride).
- Concentrate: A term used to describe a solution with a high proportion of solute, but it does not apply to the basic definition here.