Question

In each of the following pairs of compounds, which compound is likely to be more soluble in CCl4?

a) Br2 or NaBr
b) CH3OH or C6H11OH
c) CS2 or KOH
d) I2 or CaF2

I'm pretty that Br2 is more soluble in "a" and I2 is more soluble in "d" due to their not being polar like CCl4... I'm also not certain if CS2 is actually not polar. It doesn't seem to be polar when I draw the structure, but I'm not sure and for "b" I know that in a polar solvent like H20, the shorter hydrocarbon chains are more soluble, but is that the same for non polar solvents??
Thanks! :)

Answer 1

Soluble? Polar mixes with polar. Nonpolar mixes with nonpolar. You know how to find polarity right?

Answer 2

yeah i know how to find polarity, i could be over-thinking this, but I'm mostly curious on B... does the hydrocarbon chain affect a molecules solubility in a non-polar substance... I know that in a polar solvent, solutes are more soluble with shorter hydrocarbon chains and I was just wondering if that's the same for non-polar.

Answer 3

Hmmm that's an excellent question. I'm actually not sure. Dx

Answer 4

@chmvijay - may help you.

Answer 5

\(CS_2\) is non-polar, just like \(CO_2\) is non-polar, if you do out the lewis structures properly. For b), BOTH molecules are polar, but one has a short non-polar "tail" while the other has a long non-polar "tail". When there are both polar and non-polar segments of organic molecules, the section that's larger tends to dictate the overall properties of the molecule.

Your idea is essentially correct, the more non-polar a substance is, the more it will dissolve in another non-polar substance