They enable atoms and molecules to form solids without sharing or transferring electrons. When a solid or gas is dissolved in a liquid, the liquid is always considered the solvent. The solubility of a substance is the maximum amount that can be dissolved in a given quantity of solvent at a given temperature. A saturated solution is one that contains the maximum amount of solute possible. Polar liquids dissolve only ionic and polar covalent compounds, whereas nonpolar liquids dissolve only nonpolar covalent compounds.
Water is a highly polar liquid, which is why it is so good a solvent.
An electrolyte is any substance that separates into ions when dissolved in water. The pH of a solution is a measure of its degree of acidity or basicity. A neutral solution is neither acidic nor basic and has a pH of 7. Salts are usually crystalline solids that consist of positive metal ions and negative nonmetal ions. A salt can be formed by neutralizing the acid that contains the appropriate nonmetal ion with the base that contains the appropriate metal ion and then evaporating the solution to dryness.