Your throat is dry, and you want the last cough drop in the box to last a long time in your mouth. What should you do?
◦ Keep the cough drop whole. This maintains the largest surface-to-volume ratio and slows the dissolution of the cough drop.
◦ Break the cough drop into little pieces and put them all in your mouth. Since each little piece must be dissolved separately, the drop will last longer.
◦ Break the cough drop into little pieces and put them all in your mouth. This decreases the surface-to-volume ratio and slows the dissolution of the cough drop.
◦ It doesn't matter if the cough drop is in one piece or many pieces; the total amount of cough drop is all that matters.