Explore the interactions that cause water and oil to separate from a mixture. Oil is a non-polar molecule, while water is a polar molecule. While all molecules are attracted to each other, some attractions are stronger than others. Non-polar molecules are attracted through a London dispersion attraction; polar molecules are attracted through both the London dispersion force and the stronger dipole-dipole attraction. When oil and water are mixed, the dipole-dipole interactions are disrupted, but constant molecular motion allows the stronger dipole-dipole attractions to partition the polar molecules from the mixture. The force of attractions between molecules has consequences for their interactions in physical, chemical and biological applications.
Primary aims of the Lab:
To learn about Mixtures, Separation, dipole-dipole interactions