Question

a. What is detergent? Would you be able to check if water is hard by using a detergent? Justify your answer.
b. What is saponification? Explain the cleansing action of soap.​

Answer 1

Answer :

(a) Detergents are sodium salts of long chain benzene sulphonic acid.

No, we would not be able to check whether a sample of water is hard by using a detergent because a detergent forms lather easily even in hard water.

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(b) Soap is the sodium or potassium salt of organic acid. Most dirt is easily oily by nature, soap molecules form structures called micelles, where one end of the molecule is towards the oil droplet and the ionic end faces outside.

This forms an emulsion in water, which helps in pulling out the dirt from the fabric and the soap micelle helps in dissolving the dirt in water.

(For more information, refer to the attached image.)