Dissolving potassium permanganate (First of 3 images). Potassium permanganate dissolving in a test tube of water. The potassium permanganate has just been added as a solid & is resting at the bo- ttom of the test tube. Dissolving occurs because there is electrostatic attraction between the wat- er molecules & those of the solid. The water pulls ions away from the surface of the solid and into the fluid. In this way the potassium permanganate (the solute) slowly dissolves into the water (the solvent) to form a homogeneous mixture (solution). The amount of solute that water can hold in solution depends upon its temperature and pressure. (See also A350/111 and A350/112).