Multiple Choice
Which of the following reactions would occur to a measurable extent in water?
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6. Chemical Quantities & Aqueous Reactions
Solubility Rules
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Which of the following best explains why ionic compounds dissolve and dissociate in water?
A
Water molecules are polar and surround the ions, stabilizing them through ion-dipole interactions.
B
Water molecules form covalent bonds with the ions, causing them to separate.
C
Water molecules are nonpolar and disrupt the ionic lattice by physical agitation.
D
Ionic compounds react with water to produce gases that escape, leaving the ions behind.
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand that ionic compounds consist of positive and negative ions held together by strong electrostatic forces in a lattice structure.
Recognize that water is a polar molecule, meaning it has a partial positive charge on the hydrogen atoms and a partial negative charge on the oxygen atom.
When an ionic compound is placed in water, the polar water molecules interact with the ions through ion-dipole forces, where the positive end of water molecules surrounds anions and the negative end surrounds cations.
These ion-dipole interactions help to overcome the ionic bonds in the lattice, causing the ionic compound to dissolve and the ions to separate or dissociate in solution.
Note that water does not form covalent bonds with the ions, nor is it nonpolar, and ionic compounds do not typically react with water to produce gases in this context.
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