|MadSci Network: Chemistry|
There is an old adage in chemistry: "like dissolves like". Styrofoam is polystyrene that has been puffed up with a gas into a foamy material that hardens. Much of it is gas trapped in bubbles, which is why it is so light. Polystyrene itself is a hydrocarbon, which means it is made up only of carbon and hydrogen atoms bound together. Since "like dissolves like," a hydrocarbon would be likely to dissolve this substance. Gasoline is a hydrocarbon, and as you'd predict, polystyrene dissolves in it.
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