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The answer lies in the molecular structure. The molecular structure of water is H2O, meaning that it is made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. An important fact to be noted is that water is polar, or that one side of the molecule has a greater positive charge, and the other side has a greater negative charge. In order for oxygen to bond with hydrogen to form water, the hydrogen atoms must each share one electron with the oxygen. However, the electron is not shared equally in this case. Due partially to oxygen having morepositively charged protons in its nucleus than hydrogen, it tends to cause the shared electrons to spend more time orbiting the oxygen atom than the hydrogen atoms. As a result of the electron imbalance, there is a much more negative charge surrounding the oxygen atom than the hydrogen atoms. Thus, water is a polar molecule. Oil, however, is not a polar molecule. All the electrons are shared in a sufficiently even manner for it to be considered nonpolar. In order for two liquids to be miscible, or mixable, they must both be nonpolar or both be polar. If one liquid is polar, (such as water), and the other liquid is nonpolar, (such as oil), then they will not mix, making them immiscible.
What else can I help you with?
Why does oil float in water?
The density of oil is what makes it float on water. Oil is less dense than water and does not mix or dissolve within the water. Therefore, it floats.The density of oil is what makes it float on water. Oil is less dense than water and does not mix or dissolve within the water.
Why does a drop of water placed on the surface of oil contracts to form a spherical shape?
The surface tension of the water and the fact that oil and water cannot wet each other.
Why does food colouring go through oil and dissolves in water?
Food coloring is made up of water-soluble molecules that are attracted to water. When food coloring is added to water, the molecules disperse evenly throughout the water. However, when food coloring is added to oil, the water-soluble molecules are not attracted to the oil and do not dissolve in it.
Is hydrophilic and oleophilic the same?
No they are opposite. Hydrophilic means water loving. Oleophilic means oil loving.
Is salt soluble in coconut oil?
Salt is not soluble in coconut oil because salt is hydrophilic (water-loving) and coconut oil is hydrophobic (water-repelling). This makes them immiscible in each other. Salt dissolves in water, not in oil.
What is the relationship between oil and water?
The relationship is that they do not mix. The molecules in water are attracted to each other and will not mix with the oil molecules which are also attracted to each other and therefore will not mix with the water molecules
did the oil dissolve in water?
Oils are hydrophobic, or “water fearing.” Instead of being attracted to water molecules, oil molecules are repelled by them. As a result, when you add oil to a cup of water the two don't mix with each other.
Do water molecules attract nonpolar molecules such as oil?
Yes, but they attract polar molecules more strongly."Hydrophobic" molecules is a misnomer. The nonpolar molecules in question are attracted to water molecules (usually more strongly than they're attracted to each other, even), but they get "shoved out of the way" by polar "hydrophilic" molecules which are even more strongly attracted to water molecules.
Why wont oil dissolve well in the gulf of Mexico?
Oil are nonpolar substances, and water is a polar substance. Because of this, water molecules are more attracted to each other than the oil, and will not break their bonds to dissolve the oil.
What are some interesting facts about oil?
Water molecules won't form a solution (are not miscible) in oil. The reason is that water molecules are polar, and oil molecules are not. Water molecules, in an environment of oil, are attracted to each other, and this polar bonding excludes the oil molecules.
Why cant oil and water mix?
While water often mixes with other liquids to form solutions, oil and water does not. Water molecules are strongly attracted to each other, this is the same for oil, because they are more attracted to their own molecules they just don't mix together. They separate and the oil floats above the water because it has a lower density.
What happens if oil and water are mixed together without an emulsifier?
Water is denser than oil because particles in the oil are more separated between each other than in water. This results in oil rising to the top, while water stays at the bottom of the recipient.
Why oil molecules are not attracted to the water molecules in vinegar?
Oil molecules are nonpolar, meaning they do not have charged regions, while water molecules are polar, having a positive and negative side due to their molecular structure. This difference in polarity leads to a lack of attraction between oil and water molecules. In vinegar, which contains water and acetic acid, the polar water molecules are more attracted to each other than to the nonpolar oil molecules, resulting in the two substances not mixing. Consequently, oil and vinegar tend to separate when combined.
Why is water a viscous fluid?
All liquids have viscosity. The viscosity of crude oil is higher than water due to molecular adhesion forces which are forces that attract the various hydrocarbon compounds to each other. Crude oil has a very large range of viscosities. See related link.
How does a solution of kool-aid different from a mixture of oil and water?
Kool-Aid contains sugar (or another sweetener) along with flavorings and colorings that dissolve in water. The water molecules, which tend to cling onto each other via hydrogen bonds, will actually cling to molecules of the ingredients in the Kool-Aid. After a bit of time and some stirring, the contents of the Kool-Aid package all go into solution in the water. On the other hand, oil and water do not form a solution. They will mix with agitation, but the molecules of oil and those of water don't like each other and will not be attracted. Eventually oil and water will separate. The mutual dislike of water and oil for each other was known to ancients, though they did not understand the chemistry and physics involved.
Why does oil sit on top of water?
Oil and water do not mix because they have different densities and polarities. Oil is less dense than water and lacks polarity, so it floats on top of water which is more dense and polar. This leads to the separation of the two substances when they are mixed.
What happens when you combine oil and water?
The oil will float above the water, as they wont mix with each other, and oil is lighter.
