# Freezing Point Lowering by the addittion of solute **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-point-lowering-by-the-addittion-of-solute/839508 "2019-08-31T02:23:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-point-lowering-by-the-addittion-of-solute/839508/1 "2019-08-31T02:23:09Z")
Thomas B. Greenslade is (was?) an important and influential science educator. As a much younger man (1933), he wrote this article explaining (for first year college students), the action of a solute in lowering the freezing point of a mixture. [https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed010p353](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed010p353) What do you think? Is it an ok explanation? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-point-lowering-by-the-addittion-of-solute/839508/2 "2019-09-01T04:12:55Z")
Well, the last time I did any chemistry was first year uni, so I guess I’m pretty close to his target audience. I think it needs a good deal more expansion around the words “the salt dissolves in the water and we have a solution in contact with the ice”. After looking at that sentence for a looong time I finally figured out what he meant (essentially, whenever an ice-bond is broken a solute molecule can slip in the gap, making it harder for the ice-bond to re-form, and the whole thing goes slushy). But at first sight it seems to be assuming what it’s trying to prove (“dissolves in the water”? What water? Isn’t it ice?) For a modern audience I’d say “more pics please”