explain the cleansing action of soap
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Chemically, a soap is a sodium salt of a long chain carboxylic acid (fatty acid) which has cleaningproperties in water. A soap has a large non-ionic hydrocarbon group and an ionic group, COO-Na+. ... The process of making soap by hydrolysis of fats and oils with alkalies is called saponification.
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Hey !!
The cleansing action of soap is due to the fact that soap molecule, such as sodium stearate form micelle around the oil droplet in such a way the hydrophobic part of the stearate ions is in the oil droplet and hydrophilic part projects out of the oil droplet like the bristles.
Since, the polar groups can interact with water, the oil droplet surrounded by stearate ions in now pulled in water and removed from the dirty surface. Thus, soap helps in emulsification and washing away of oils and fats. The negatively charged sheath around the globules prevents them from coming together and forming aggregates.
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