Solute molecules in aqueous solutions are much more diverse. They could be simple non-dissociating solutes such as sugars, ions formed from dissociating salts, or enormous, charged proteins and other polymers. The simplest case of a single atom in solution (for example a chloride ion) could be represented like:
What happens when such a solute is mixed with water? When dissolved, a solute doesn't just jumble in with the water. Instead, it attracts a shell of associated water molecules and becomes a much larger entity, which might look like:
Of course, unlike these cartoons, none of these molecules is static. Go to the next page for a more dynamic view of what happens when a solute dissolves.