what does sugar dissolve easily in water but not in oil?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Sugar dissolves easily in water but not in oil due to the difference in the polarity of the substances involved. Water is a highly polar solvent, meaning it has a partial positive charge on its hydrogen atoms and a partial negative charge on its oxygen atom. This polarity allows water molecules to interact with and break apart other polar substances, such as sugar.
Sugar molecules consist of a structure of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. The oxygen atoms in the sugar molecule have partial negative charges, while the hydrogen atoms have partial positive charges, making sugar a polar molecule as well. Because of the polarity, the positive end of the water molecule is attracted to the oxygen atoms in the sugar molecules, and the negative end of the water molecule is attracted to the hydrogen atoms in the sugar. This attraction allows water molecules to surround the sugar molecules and dissolve them.
On the other hand, oil is nonpolar. Oil molecules are made up of long hydrocarbon chains, which do not have the partial positive and negative charges that water molecules have. Since like dissolves like, polar substances such as sugar do not dissolve well in nonpolar solvents like oil. The interactions between oil molecules and sugar molecules are weak and insufficient to overcome the strong attractions between the sugar molecules and the water molecules, making it difficult for sugar to dissolve in oil.
In summary, the reason sugar dissolves in water but not in oil is because water is polar, allowing it to break down sugar’s polar molecules effectively, while oil’s nonpolar nature does not provide the right environment to dissolve sugar. This principle of polarity is a key factor in understanding solubility.
