Why doesn't water and oil mix?

Answer 1

is this your homework?

Answer 2

The majority of introductory chemistry and organic chemistry textbooks state that oil and water don't mix because of enthalpic effects. These texts generally make the argument that the mixing process is endothermic, reasoning that the water-water hydrogen bonds that must be broken in order to accommodate the solute are much stronger than the subsequent solvent-solute dipole-induced dipole intermolecular forces that are formed. In fact, in most cases the mixing process is exothermic, so the immiscibility of the two liquids must be explained by a loss of entropy in the system. The widely accepted model explaining the hydrophobic effect invokes the formation of icelike clathrate hydrate "cages" around nonpolar solute molecules. Water molecules at the surface of these relatively rigid clathrate structures are strongly hydrogen-bonded to one another. The formation of these solvent "cages" explains why both Delta H and Delta S are negative for the solution process, and the endergonicity of solvation is thus due to entropy and not enthalpy. Authors should remove from their textbooks the incorrect enthalpic/hydrogen-bond explanation for the hydrophobic effect. Because aspects of the correct entropic/clathrate "cage" explanation lie beyond the scope of introductory or organic chemistry courses, it may be wisest to omit any detailed physical explanation of the "like dissolves like" phenomenon. If the overall format of the text permits, a brief discussion of solvation entropy effects might be included in the section dealing with the immiscibility of oil and water

Answer 3

Water is highly polar. Oil is almost entirely non polar. As a result, they don't mix.

Answer 4

the nature of the substances are different......they have different densities also. Water has a higher density than oil thats y oil floats on water......both are also non reactive so no reaction takes place, they just simply form what is called a colloid.

Answer 5

Density of water is 1000.00 kg/liter while that of oil is 800 - 920 kg/liter. By the law of physics, oil is lighter than water thus it floats in water instead of being dissolved.

Answer 6

oil is too dense for water and oil to mix unless you shake them together in a bottle.

Answer 7

oil is non-polar, and it's not because of the density, even if they were the same density they would not mix

Answer 8

oil is more viscos than water and lighter oil floats on water and therefore can not be mixed

Answer 9

because water is polar and oil is nonpolar.

remember, "like dissolves like". that means, polar solvents will dissolve polar solutes, and nonpolar solvents will dissolve nonpolar solutes!

also, oil is much less dense than water.

Answer 10

Oil is dense and water is not.

Answer 11

because oil is more dense than water