Suspensions are liquids in which the drug is dissolved.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It depends on the drug
• D. Not applicable

Answer: (B)

A suspension is a liquid in which solid drug particles are dispersed but not dissolved. The key idea is that the drug remains in particulate form rather than fully dissolving at the molecular level. Because these particles don’t dissolve, they can settle to the bottom over time and need to be shaken before administration to re-disperse them. If the drug were truly dissolved, it would be a solution, not a suspension, since the molecules would be uniformly distributed at the molecular level and would not settle out. So the statement that suspensions are liquids in which the drug is dissolved is not correct. Some drugs can be formulated as either suspensions or solutions depending on solubility, but by definition a suspension contains undissolved particles.