Answer to Question #73129 in General Chemistry for jen

Question

The above six compounds belong to four different classes of organic compounds. Which of the four classes would be the most soluble in non-polar compounds? Explain your answer. ethane C2H6
ethanol C2H6O (CH3CH2OH)
ethanoic acid C2H4O2 (CH3COOH)
methoxymethane C2H6O (CH3OCH3)
octane C8H18
1-octanol C8H18O (CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2OH)

Answer 1

Hydrocarbons: ethane C2H6 , octane C8H18 .
Alcohols: ethanol C2H6O (CH3CH2OH) , 1-octanol C8H18O (CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2OH) .
Carboxylic acids: ethanoic acid C2H4O2 (CH3COOH) .
Ethers: methoxymethane C2H6O (CH3OCH3) .
Non-polar solvents include compounds whose molecules are not dipoles. Nonpolar compounds perfectly dissolve nonpolar gas molecules. This property is widely used to obtain compressed gases, the structure of which is extremely unstable and dangerous, but dissolved, they are perfectly transported and stored in steel cylinders.
Therefore, among these four classes of compounds, the hydrocarbons (alkanes) are most soluble in nonpolar compounds.