Background: When you add sugar to a cold drink, you may stir it to help the sugar dissolve. If you don’t stir, the sugar may eventually dissolve, but it will take much longer. Stirring is one of several factors that affect how fast a solute dissolves in a solvent. Temperature is another factor. A solid solute dissolves faster at a higher temperature. For example, sugar dissolves faster in hot tea than in ice tea. A third factor that affects the rate of dissolving is the surface area of the solute. For example, if you put granulated sugar in a glass of ice tea, it will dissolve more quickly than the same amount of sugar in a cube. That’s because granulated sugar has much more surface area than a cube of sugar. You can see videos of all three factors at these URLs

Situation: Melissa and her friends were enjoying different beverages while making plans for an upcoming trip. Melisa and Barb had a cup of coffee but Barb used sugar cubes while Melisa preferred granulated sugar. Kelly and Lisa were both having tea but Kelly was having iced tea while Lisa was having hot tea but the both added a scoop of sugar to their tea.

Question: Who's sugar will disolve faster Melisa's or Barb's?

Situation: Melissa and her friends were enjoying different beverages while making plans for an upcoming trip. Melisa and Barb had a cup of coffee but Barb used sugar cubes while Melisa preferred granulated sugar. Kelly and Lisa were both having tea but Kelly was having iced tea while Lisa was having hot tea but the both added a scoop of sugar to their tea.

Question: Would Lisa's sugar melt faster or slower if she stirred it?

Situation: Melissa and her friends were enjoying different beverages while making plans for an upcoming trip. Melisa and Barb had a cup of coffee but Barb used sugar cubes while Melisa preferred granulated sugar. Kelly and Lisa were both having tea but Kelly was having iced tea while Lisa was having hot tea but the both added a scoop of sugar to their tea.

Question: Will Kelly's sugar dissolve faster or slower than Lisa's?

Situation: Melissa and her friends were enjoying different beverages while making plans for an upcoming trip. Melisa and Barb had a cup of coffee but Barb used sugar cubes while Melisa preferred granulated sugar. Kelly and Lisa were both having tea but Kelly was having iced tea while Lisa was having hot tea but the both added a scoop of sugar to their tea.

Question: Will Kelly's sugar dissolve faster or slower than Barb's?

Situation: Sue and Beth both liked tea but Sue liked iced tea while Beth liked hot tea. They both liked their tea with one cube of sugar rather than granulated sugar.

Question: Who's sugar will dissolve in their tea fastest if neither stirs it.

Situation: Sue and Beth both liked tea but Sue liked iced tea while Beth liked hot tea. They both liked their tea with one cube of sugar rather than granulated sugar.

Question: Who's sugar will dissolve in their tea slowes if neither stirs it.

Situation: Sue and Beth both liked tea but Sue liked iced tea while Beth liked hot tea. They both liked their tea with one cube of sugar rather than granulated sugar.

Question: What could they add to their tea if they wanted the sugar to  dissolve faster?

Situation: Sue and Beth both liked tea but Sue liked iced tea while Beth liked hot tea. They both liked their tea with one cube of sugar rather than granulated sugar.

Question: Will the sugar cub dissolve faster or slower in the hot tea?