Dissolving sugar. Sugar dissolving in a glass of water as it is poured from a spoon. Dissolving occurs because there is electrostatic attraction between the water molecules and the sugar molecules. This means that the water pulls sugar molecules away from the surface of the grains and into the fluid. In this way the sugar (the solute) dissolves into the water (the solvent) to form a homogeneous mixture (solution). The amount of dissolved sugar that water can hold in solution depends upon the fluid's temperature and pressure. When no more sugar will dissolve the solution is said to be saturated.