Question

Why would dry cleaners use nonpolar tetrachloroethylene, C2Cl4, to get cheeseburger grease out of your clothes?

It is a solvent.
It is fat-soluble.
It is water-soluble.
It is a solute.
It would not get out the grease.

Answer 1

A. It is a solvent.

B. It is fat-soluble.

C. It is water-soluble.

D. It is a solute.

E. It would not get out the grease.

Answer 2

It is fat-soluble

Step-by-step explanation:

The cheeseburger grease adhered to cloths can not be washed by simple rinsing it with water. This is because of the fact that "Like Dissolves Like". As grease is non-polar in nature therefore it will show no interaction with water because water is polar in nature. Hence, in order to make interactions of grease we must add some sort of non polar solvent like Tetrachloroethylene (C₂Cl₄). Now, both being non-polar in nature will interact, make attractions and grease will happily leave with Tetrachloroethylene leaving the cloth clean again.

Remember:

Tetrachloroethylene is non polar because the four chlorine atoms about the double bond cancel out each others effect making the dipole moment zero hence, the overall molecule becomes non-polar.