Final answer:
Liquid hand soap, being primarily composed of polar substances, is not soluble in hexane, which is a nonpolar solvent. This is because solubility is based on the principle that 'like dissolves like,' meaning polar substances dissolve in polar solvents and nonpolar substances in nonpolar solvents.
Step-by-step explanation:
Is Liquid Hand Soap Soluble in Hexane?
The solubility of liquid hand soap in hexane can be understood by considering the principle that 'like dissolves like'. Hand soap is composed mainly of substances with polar or ionic characteristics, which are hydrophilic, meaning they mix well with water, a polar solvent. On the contrary, hexane is a nonpolar solvent similar to hydrocarbons like cyclohexane and octane. Since nonpolar solvents tend to dissolve nonpolar substances, and since soaps have polar characteristics, we would not expect liquid hand soap to be significantly soluble in hexane.
In a more chemical context, the soap molecule consists of a long non-polar hydrocarbon tail and a polar ionic-salt end. While the polar end could mix with other polar substances, the non-polar tail is dominant in its interaction with hexane and is not sufficient to ensure solubility of the entire soap molecule in a nonpolar solvent. Therefore, due to the differing solubility properties, liquid hand soap dissolves well in water but not in hexane.
This solubility behavior aligns with what is observed in other scenarios where polar and nonpolar substances are introduced. For instance, polar substances like ammonium chloride or ethylene glycol would not be soluble in nonpolar solvents like benzene.