butter and grease are nonpolar compounds. what happens to greasy plates when dunked in plain water? what do you need to thoroughly clean a greasy dish and why?

Question

Charlize Walls

Chemistry

20 December, 00:22

butter and grease are nonpolar compounds. what happens to greasy plates when dunked in plain water? what do you need to thoroughly clean a greasy dish and why?

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Michael Herman · Answer 1

- Since both butter and fat are not polar compounds, plain water (polar) will be unable to clean all the fat from greasy dishes.

- What is needed to thoroughly clean a greasy dish is a detergent, since it makes it easier for the fat molecules to dissolve in the water.

Explanation:

Water is a molecule considered a universal solvent, given the physical-chemical characteristics that allow it to bind to a large number of molecules and chemical elements as it is a polar molecule. Lipids or fats, on the other hand, are non-polar molecules that cannot be diluted in water, but can be diluted in solvents such as alcohols.

What happens to greasy plates when dunked in plain water?

The water (H₂O) is unable to drag the fat molecules on the surface of the plate, which is due to the difference in polarity of the water and fat molecules.

Lipids are non-polar and immiscible molecules in H₂O because they are hydrocarbon chains with single or double bonds that do not show polarity, and their adhesion to the H₂O molecule is not possible.

What do you need to thoroughly clean a greasy dish and why?

To remove grease from a greasy dish, a detergent should be applied.

Detergents and soaps are chemical substances that have the property of emulsifying lipids and fats, because they have a hydrophilic portion - with an affinity for water - and a lipophilic one.

When a fat molecule is chemically emulsified it becomes soluble in water - the hydrophilic portion acts with H₂O - which makes it easier for a detergent to facilitate the cleaning of greasy dishes.