Solubility of organic compounds

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the solubility of various organic compounds, specifically hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, and carboxylic acids. Participants explore the factors influencing solubility, including hydrogen bonding and the impact of hydrocarbon chain length.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asserts that hydrocarbons have the lowest solubility due to their inability to form hydrogen bonds with water or themselves.
  • Another participant expresses uncertainty about ranking the solubility of aldehydes, alcohols, and carboxylic acids, noting that all can form hydrogen bonds with water.
  • It is mentioned that the solubility of these compounds decreases as the length of their hydrocarbon chains increases.
  • One participant questions the effect of ionization on solubility, suggesting it may alter the ranking.
  • A later post raises a question about the behavior of acids in water, implying a potential influence on solubility but does not provide a direct answer.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the ranking of aldehydes, alcohols, and carboxylic acids, and there is uncertainty regarding the impact of ionization on solubility.

Contextual Notes

The discussion lacks clarity on the specific conditions under which solubility is being evaluated, such as temperature or concentration, and does not address the potential effects of different structural isomers.

DespicableMe
Messages
40
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



Rank the solubilities of these organic compounds from lowest to highest:
Hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, carboxylic acid.


The Attempt at a Solution



I know that hydrocarbons is the lowest - it cannot form H bonds with itself nor can it form H bonds with water.

For the other 3, though, I'm not sure which one has a stronger solubility over the other two.
They are all soluble because they can form H-bonds with water even though they might not be able to form H bonds with itself (aldehydes).
All their solubilities fall as the length of their hydrocarbon chains increase, so I'm not sure how to rank the last 3.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
What if something is ionized?
 
Borek said:
What if something is ionized?

I'm not sure, they only asked us to rank those 3.
 
What acid does in water?
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 48 ·
2
Replies
48
Views
9K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K