Question

Explain the working of soap

Answer 1

Soap, water, and oil are all made up of molecules. Some molecules are hydrophilic, (hydro=water and philic=loving) these molecules are attracted to water. Some molecules are hydrophobic, (hydro=water and phobic=fearing), they are repelled by water.

Molecules that readily mix with water are hydrophilic.

Molecules that readily mix with oil are hydrophobic.

Since we all know that water and oil do not mix, then we also know that hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds do not mix.

Two other words we need to know are polar and nonpolar. Nonpolar compounds, like oil and grease, cannot dissolve in water. Polarcompounds can dissolve in water.

 

Most of what we call dirt is grease or oil which will not come off with just water. This is because oil and grease are non-polar, which means they will not dissolve in the water.

Answer 2

The Soap molecule has two ends with different properties. They are hydrophillic end and hydrophobic end.
Cleaning action of soap:
The cleaning action of soap is due to micelle formation and emulsion formation. Inside water a unique orientation forms clusters of molecules in which the hydrophobic tails are in the interior of the cluster and the ionic ends on the surface of cluster. This results in the formation of micelle.Soap in the form of micelle cleans the dirt as the dirt will be collected at the centre of micelle.
This property of soap makes it an emulsifier. The dirt suspended in micelles is easily rinsed away. This is known as cleaning action of soap.