Dissolving a salt in water causes the solution temperature to drop from to

CHEMISTRY · Subjective · A Level · Chemistry · Energetics · Energetics

Problem

Dissolving a salt in water causes the solution temperature to drop from

24.3\,^{\circ}\text{C}

19.8\,^{\circ}\text{C}

. For the solution considered as the system, state the sign of

q

(positive, negative, or zero) and briefly justify your answer.