Question:

The detergent action of soap is due to its

Updated On: Jul 7, 2022
  • alkalinity
  • solubility in water
  • emulsifying property
  • ability to produce lather with water
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Emulsifying property of soap is responsible for its detergent action
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Concepts Used:

Detergents

Detergent is a water-soluble cleansing agent that combines with impurities and dirt to make them more soluble and differs from soap in not forming a scum with the salts in hard water.

Properties of Detergents:

  1. The concentration at which micelles formation starts is called as critical micelle concentration (CMC).
  2. Aggregation number is the average number of monomers in a micelle.
  3. Relative micelle size is indicated by micelle molecular weight.
  4. The temperature at which the detergent solution is around or above its critical micelle concentration separates into two phases is called the cloud point.

Read More: Soaps and Detergents

Advantages of Detergents:

  • Detergents work well even with hard water
  • Detergents may be used in saline or acidic water
  • Detergents are more easily soluble in water than soaps.

Disadvantages of Detergents:

  1. Synthetic detergents having branched hydrocarbon chain are not fully biodegradable, i.e., they are not decomposed by micro-organisms in sewage and create water pollution.
  2. They are more expensive than soaps