Soaps and Detergents

Soaps and Detergents

Bathing soap and washing detergents are kinds of soaps which we use in our daily life. In addition to this, we are using wash powder to remove strong stains on the clothes.

The detergent molecules have two sides, one side water loving, other water hating. Water hating goes and joins with dirt and oil in the cloth while the water loving joins with the water molecules.

When you agitate the cloth the dirt is surrounded by many molecules and is taken away from the cloth. The cloth becomes clean, and the dirt surrounded by the detergent molecules float in the water making it dirty.

We can prepare our own soap by the following activity.

Activity 2: Preparation of Soap

Materials Required: 35 ml of water 10 g. of Lye (Sodium hydroxide) 60 ml of coconut oil.

Process : Cover your work area with old newspaper. Take 35 ml of water in a jar. Add 10 gram of concentrated sodium hydroxide and allow it to cool.

Then add 60 ml of coconut oil drop by drop and stir it well. Pour that solution into an empty match box, soap can be obtained after getting dried.

Try this soap to wash your handkerchief.

Different soaps for different purposes are prepared with various raw materials. We can understand this by doing the following activity.

Activity 3: Collect various kinds of soap’s wrapper. Complete the following table based on the information provided in the wrapper.

Inference: Nature of the soaps varies according to its constituents.

CHEMISTRY IN EVERY DAY LIFE