A dissolved substance that forms a solid is referred to as?

A dissolved substance that forms a solid is referred to as precipitating. This process occurs when a solute in a solution exceeds its solubility limit, leading to the formation of a solid phase, called a precipitate. This can happen due to changes like temperature variations, concentration changes, or reactions with other chemicals.

Precipitation is an important concept in wastewater treatment because it helps to remove certain harmful substances from water, making it cleaner and safer. For instance, when certain metal ions react with sulfides, they can form insoluble metal sulfides that precipitate out of solution. This solid can then be removed from the liquid, thereby reducing the concentration of those metals in the wastewater.

The other choices relate to different processes. Absorbing deals with the uptake of substances into other materials, concentrating refers to increasing the amount of solute in a solution without necessarily forming a solid, and mixing is the act of combining substances but does not imply any chemical change that leads to solid formation.