Concept explainers
Interpretation:
Advantages and disadvantages of soap should be identified.
Concept introduction:
Soap is a substance used with water for cleansing and washing. Soaps are made from oils and fats, or their fatty acids, by treating them with strong alkali chemically. Soap is a sodium or potassium salt of a long a chain of fatty acid.
Answer to Problem 1RQ
Solution:
The main disadvantage of soap is that it does not work well in hard water and the main advantage of soap is that it is derived from renewable sources.
Explanation of Solution
Advantages of soap:
- It is an excellent cleanser in soft water.
- It is relatively non-toxic.
- It is derived from renewable sources (animal fats and vegetable oils).
- It is biodegradable.
Disadvantages of soap:
- It does not work well in hard water as hard water contains calcium, magnesium and iron ions. The anions of soap react with the metal ions and form insoluble, greasy curds.
- In acidic solutions, soaps are converted to free fatty acids, which have no cleansing action and are also insoluble in water and separate as a greasy scum.
The main disadvantage of soap is that it does not work well in hard water and the main advantage of soap is that it is derived from renewable sources.
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Chapter 21 Solutions
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