Explain how the structure of water makes it the universal solvent and explain what it means to say that water is the universal solvent.

Question

anonymous · Answer

Water is called the the universal solvent because of it's ability to dissolve or dissociate most compounds. It can do this because of it's polarity. Oxygen has a higher electronegativity (meaning a stronger affinity for electrons) than Hydrogen so the oxygen side of a water molecule is slightly negative and the hydrogen side is slightly positive.

 In a solution, the positive hydrogen side of water is attracted to the negative parts of the compound it is dissolving while the negative oxygen is attracted to the positive parts. This allows water to dissociate and break apart ionic compounds.