Why is it that oil and water don't mix?

Answer 1

Water and oil don't mix because water is a polar substance and oil is nonpolar. Polar substances will only dissolve other polar substances or ionic substances, but will not dissolve nonpolar substances. Remember "Like dissolves like."

Answer 2

Oil and water don't mix because of their different molecular structures. Water is polar, with positive and negative charges that attract other polar molecules like itself. Oil is nonpolar and repels water because it has no charges to attract the water molecules. This difference in polarity causes them to separate into distinct layers.

Answer 3

Oil and water don't mix because water molecules are more attracted to each other than to oil molecules. Detergent molecules are attracted to both water and oil.Even when you mix oil and water together they still separate. The oil always floats to the top because it is less dense than water.
Oil is lighter than water, but just by a little, so you can shake it up, but the water will always sink to the bottom, and the oil will sit on top.

Water and oil don't mix because water is a polar substance and oil is nonpolar. Polar substances will only dissolve other polar substances or ionic substances, but will not dissolve nonpolar substances. Remember "Like dissolves like." Oil floats on top of the water because it is less dense than water.
Oil and water do not mix because of several reasons which include the fact that oil molecules are bigger than water molecules.

This can be easily solved by adding an emulsifier (something which makes substances like oil and water mix). An example of this is mustard.
They possess different molecular gravities. This changes the way that the earths pull effects them. Water being more dense is pulled to the bottom.
Water is what is known as a "polar" molecule. This means that there is unequal sharing of electrons between the hydrogen and the electronegative oxygen. This results in a slight positive charge on the hydrogens and a slight negative on the oxygen in the bent-shaped molecule. This makes water a "polar" solvent. Therefore, only hydrophilic (water-loving) substances are appreciably miscible in water.

Oils, on the other hand, are made of hydrocarbon chains. These are chains of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogens. The elements and structure of oils make them non-polar, or "hydrophobic" (water fearing).

"Like dissolves like" is a adage to describe the predictable action of a particular solvent on a solute. Only polar substances dissolve in polar solvents; likewise non-polar solutes only dissolve in non-polar solvents.

This is why they don't mix.

To get them to mix you can add washing up liquid/detergent because it is an emulsifier and will allow then to mix together.
Because water is denser than vegetable oil and the molecules won't interact with each other.

Because, the molecules in vegetable oil are nonpolar, and nonpolar molecules have little attraction for polar water molecules.
Both oil and water are liquids, but their chemical compositions are very different from each other. Chemically, all kinds of oils are long chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to them. Oil is made of long non polar hydrocarbons, which means that they experience weak forces of attraction. On the other hand, water molecules are dipolar, which means that one of their ends is positively charged while the other is negatively charged. Also, oil molecules are much bigger than water molecules. The mixing of any two liquids is attributed to the similar nature of their molecules. The difference in the molecular structures of oil and water is one of the main reasons why they do not mix with each other. They are a well-known example of immiscible liquids.
Water and oil don't mix because water is a polar substance and oil is nonpolar. Polar substances will only dissolve other polar substances or ionic substances, but will not dissolve nonpolar substances. Remember "Like dissolves like."

Answer 4

The water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Due to the ability of the oxygen atom to pull the hydrogen electrons towards itself, it carries a negative charge. As a result, the hydrogen atoms carry a more positive charge. The charges of these two molecules allow them to make weak bonds with certain particles, like NaCl. NaCl dissociates into a Na+ which is attracted to the negative oxygen atoms of the water molecules and hangs out there, and the Cl- which is attracted to the positive hydrogen atoms in the water molecules and hangs out with them. Likewise, molecules which have lots of charges on them are termed hydrophillic, or "water loving." They interact well with the charges on water molecules. Unlike the water molecule, oil is made up of long chains of carbon atoms (usually 8 Carbon atoms) which do not carry an electric charge. These long chains without a charge are called hydrophobic - or "afraid of water." Because they do not have a charge, there is no attraction between the charges on the water molecule and the long carbon chains and can't hang out with the water molecules. That is why oil does not mix with water.

Answer 5

Water and oil don't mix because water is a polar substance and oil is nonpolar. Polar substances will only dissolve other polar substances or ionic substances, but will not dissolve nonpolar substances. Remember "Like dissolves like."

Answer 6

Oil is non-polar whereas water is polar.

Polar refers to the charge distribution within a molecule, polar meaning that "one end of the molecule has a different charge than the other end".

Note:

a detergent is a long molecule with a polar end and a non-polar end.

Answer 7

Water and oil don't mix because water is a polar substance and oil is nonpolar. Polar substances will only dissolve other polar substances or ionic substances, but will not dissolve nonpolar substances. Remember "Like dissolves like."

Answer 8

Water is a polar molecule. Nonpolar molecules (which is oil) don't mix well with polar molecules.

Answer 9

oil and water never mix together. water is heavier than oil. so,oil float on the water.

Answer 10

Water and oil don't mix because of their difference in polarity: water is very polar, whereas oil is non-polar. Thus, it is energetically unfavorable for these substances to mix.