Question

Salt is ionic, and oil is covalent. If you add water, the salt will dissolve in the water, and the oil will float to the top. You could then skim the oil and start over with sugar. To double-check, you could even make sure the oil does not conduct electricity! Compare your response to the sample above. Which ideas did you include?

A. The idea that water will dissolve salt
B. The idea that water does not dissolve oil
C. The idea of using electricity to test
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Water dissolves salt due to its polar nature and ability to dissociate ionic compounds, while oil, being nonpolar, does not dissolve in water and can be skimmed off. The conductivity test with electricity further demonstrates that oil does not conduct electricity, unlike saltwater which does.

Step-by-step explanation:

When water is added to a mixture of salt and oil, the salt will dissolve because it is an ionic compound and water is a polar solvent, which has the ability to break the ionic bonds in salt through the process known as dissociation. In contrast, oil, which consists of nonpolar covalent bonds, will not mix with water and instead will float on top due to the difference in polarity. The two are immiscible. Subsequently, the non-conductive property of oil can be demonstrated by testing it with electricity, showing that it does not conduct electricity, contrasting with saltwater, which does conduct electricity due to the presence of ions that can move freely in the solution.