Question:

How would you distinguish between sugar solution and salt solution?

Show Hint

REAP questions often focus on "common sense" observations and biological interactions with chemicals rather than complex laboratory reagents.
Updated On: Apr 19, 2026
  • Pour on floor; ants gather near sugar
  • Boil both; sugar chars
  • Add lemon; sugar turns yellow
  • Drop wooden block; sinks more in water
Show Solution
collegedunia
Verified By Collegedunia

The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for a simple, observable way to distinguish between two clear, odorless solutions: sugar (sucrose) in water and salt (sodium chloride) in water.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

While multiple chemical tests exist, the most immediate "daily life" observation is biological.
Ants possess highly sensitive chemoreceptors for glucose and sucrose. If you pour both solutions on the floor, ants will be attracted to the sugar solution for its caloric content, whereas they will ignore the salt solution.
Option B is also technically true (sugar undergoes caramelization and then charring when heated dry), but option A is listed as the safest and most direct observational choice in the original context.

Step 3: Final Answer:

The presence of ants near the sugar solution is a reliable biological indicator to distinguish it from a salt solution.
Was this answer helpful?
0
0