Question

If hexane doesn't have ions, how does it dissolve anything?

Answer 1

Compounds with similar characteristics can usually dissolve each other.
Hexane's lack of ions means it is non-polar.
Like dissolves like, so polar dissolves polar and non-polar dissolves non-polar.
This explanation may help: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090227233729AA4GheH

Answer 2

I actually mean how :)

Answer 3

Like water dissolving table salt is three water carries one sodium ion and four water carries one chloride ion if i am correct

Answer 4

@harishk

Answer 5

Polar: diapole movement, electronegetivity difference greater than 0.45
Non polar : no dipole movement, electronegetivity differnce less than 0.44

since, hexane, non polar, no diapole movement still it can form a miscible solution with other like compounds like oils......

eg: as you said.... if you add salt to water it will dissolve .... here solubility do matters....
and if you add more of salt to the same solution at some extant it stop solubilizing it .... we call it saturated solution.....

but in hexane oil scenario... the miscibility do matters.... eg: if you add alcohol to water it will be miscible in it .... here no act of ions.....

you can go through some theories like Miscibility vs solubility.....

Keep Asking & Answering....

Answer 6

lol nvm i don't get it

Answer 7

c'mon girl... what you didn't understood in it..???

Answer 8

what's miscibility

Answer 9

the phase in which the alcohol exists in water.....

Answer 10

@kc_kennylau Miscibility is definite. You can add as much alcohol as you want to water, and it will still form a homogeneous compound-same appearance and composition throughout entire mixture. Solubility works only to an extent, which is when the water is completely saturated in a mixture of salt and water. Once it is saturated, the salt ions no longer dissociate, restricting it from dissolving.

Answer 11

wait so actually when alcohol is added to water we say that water dissolves alcohol?

Answer 12

there is no solubility in alcohol sweety.... it just miscibility....

Answer 13

i can't give out two medals... @harishk please give @arbitor391 a medal

Answer 14

so when iodine is added to hexane we say that hexane dissolves iodine?

Answer 15

yep....

Answer 16

what's the difference... (can you draw diagram with water+alcohol and hexane+iodine please)

Answer 17

am i correct

Answer 18

yeah... the first is right (miscibility)..... but the second one ... it is in solubility phase...

Answer 19

what exactly is the different between both lol

Answer 20

the first one doesn't have any ion exchange... the second one does have...

Answer 21

can you depict the ion exchange? :o

Answer 22

(but you said there ain't any ions in hexane) @harishk

Answer 23

Interestingly, look here:



I've drawn a very crude graph of how density varies based on what percentage of water and alcohol (EtOH, ethanol) and you can see that the density is higher for a combination of the two rather than just the two alone. However not exactly what you're looking for... Just thought you'd be interested though!