Question
The cleansing ability of soap depends in large part on its ability to change the surface tension in water. How do you suppose soap affects the surface tension of water? Explain.
Step 1
This is because soap has a hydrophilic (water-attracting) head and a hydrophobic (water-repelling) tail. Show more…
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Key Concepts
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When a small amount of soap is added to a beaker of water, the soap molecules end up positioning themselves at the surface (hence soaps are often called surfactants): Explain why the soap molecules migrate to the surface, and why they orient themselves with their hydrocarbon tails sticking out of the water.
Solutions
One More Thing Getting Unlikes to Dissolve-Soaps and Detergents
Explain how soaps or surfactants decrease the surface tension of a liquid. How does the meniscus of an aqueous solution in a capillary change if a surfactant is added? Illustrate your answer with a diagram.
Liquids
Unique Properties of Liquids
Explain the cleansing action of soap.
Transcript
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