The cleansing action of detergent and soap is fundamentally same.

When a detergent dissolves in water, its molecule will dissociate to

form sodium or potassium ion and detergent ion ( detergent anion ).
The detergent ion such as R-O-

can be represented in a simplified

form by structure below.









Cleansing action of detergents
I. Detergent molecule dissociate to form sodium or potassium ions and
detergent ions.
II. Hydrophilic region dissolve in water. Hydrophobic dissolve in grease
and emulsifies the grease.
III. When the water is shaken, the detergent ion will remove the dirt.


O-

Ionic head
Hydrophilic head
Dissolve in water

Hydrocarbon tail
Hydrophobic head
Dissolve in
grease(dirt)

Cleansing Action of Soap and Detergent

Aim : To compare and contrast the effectiveness of cleaning action of soap &
detergent
Apparatus : 250cm
3
beakers, 100cm
3
measuring cylinder, glass rod
Material : Detergent & soap solution, soft water, hard water ( distilled water +
MgSO4 ), pieces of cloth (2cm x 2cm) with oily stain
Procedures:
1. Prepare 4 beakers with the content below:

2. Stir the solution in each beaker using a glass rod until no changes can be
observed
3. Record all changes that occurred
4. Place a piece of cloth with oily stain into each beaker.
5. Wash the oily stain on each piece using the solution in each beaker and
stirred
6. Observe and record whether the oily stain on each piece of cloth dissapear.





Experiment Content
I 100cm
3
of soap solution
II 50cm
3
of soap solution + 50cm
3
MgSO
4
III 100cm
3
of detergent solution
IV 50cm
3
of detergent solution + 50cm
3
MgSO
4
Result:

Conclusion: Soap solution was an effective cleansing agent in soft water but not
in hard water. Detergent solution was effective in both solution.

Cleansing Action of Soap and Detergent







1. Soap reduces the surface tension of water.
2. This increase the wetting ability of water.
3. So, the surface of cloth is wetted thoroughly





Experiment Observation
I A lot of lather was formed. The oily stain
was removed. The cloth was clean
II No lather but white precipitate was formed.
The oily stain remained on the cloth.
III A lot of lather was formed. The oily stain
was removed. The cloth was clean
IV A lot of lather was formed. The oily stain
was removed. The cloth was clean






1. The hydrophobic part of the soap anion dissolves in the grease.
2. The hydrophilic part attracted to the water molecules.







1. Scrubbing helps pull the grease free from cloth surface.







1. Grease is removed from the cloth surface as tiny oil droplets.
2. Tiny oil droplets with negative charge repel each other.
3. This prevent them from redeposit on the surface.
CLEANSING ACTION OF DETERGENTS

Synthetic detergents have the same type of molecular structure as
soaps
i.e., one large non-polar hydrocarbon group that is water repelling
(hydrophobic) and one short ionic group usually containing the or
group that is water attracting (hydrophilic).

Thus the cleansing action is exactly similar to that of soaps whereby
the formation of micelles followed by emulsification occurs.

However, synthetic detergents can lather well even in hard water.
This is because they are soluble sodium or potassium salts of
sulphonic acid or alkyl hydrogen sulphate and similarly form soluble
calcium or magnesium salts on reacting with the calcium ions or
magnesium ions present in water.

This is a major advantage of the cleansing property of detergents over
soap.