Name: KLEYA MONIQUE I.

PARREÑO Date Performed: 11/22/2021

Section: C - Lab Date Submitted: 11/28/2021

Experiment No. 8
FATS AND OILS: SOAPS AND DETERGENTS

I. Data
1. Saponification of Coconut Oil: Soap Formation
Describe the appearance of the mixture during heating.
The mixture is light yellow in color and has foam on top. Upon heating and stirring, it becomes foamier
and translucent, eventually turning into a viscous liquid and a semi-solid.

Describe the appearance of the resulting soap.

The viscous liquid becomes a semi-solid after heating. It then solidified and molded into the shape of
its container after cooling and standing for several days. It also has a light-yellow color.

B. Comparison between Soaps and Synthetic Detergents

1. Litmus paper Test
Blue litmus paper Red litmus paper
Blue Blue
Soap
Blue Red
Detergent

2. Reaction with acid

Observations
hazy and white in color
Soap
colorless and has little bubbles on top
Detergent

CHEM 20 LAB EXPERIMENT NO. 8 FATS AND OILS; SOAPS AND DETERGENTS 2
3. Reaction with soft and hard water
Distilled water NaCl CaCl2
colorless and there are colorless and does more cloudy appearance
Soap
bubbles present not have bubbles and has little bubbles
present
colorless and bubbles colorless and cloudy appearance with
Detergent
are present bubbles are more bubbles present
present

4. Emulsifying action
Observations
Not emulsified and colorless, kerosene stayed on
Distilled water + kerosene
top of the water
Not emulsified, kerosene stayed on top of the soap
Soap mixture + kerosene
mixture
Emulsified, uniform appearance because kerosene
Detergent mixture + kerosene
and the detergent mixture mixed, bubbles are
present

C. Chemical Properties of Oils

1. Reaction with bromine
No. of drops to make the mixture faint yellow
11
Coconut oil
39
Corn oil

2. Drying oils
Observations
The liquid has a dirty white color.
Coconut oil
The mixture was viscous, and is yellow in color.
Linseed oil

II. Questions
1. Define a true solution. Is the soap-water mixture a true solution? Support your answer.
A true solution is a homogeneous mixture that is composed of two or more substances in which the solute
and the solvent mix properly in the liquid phase. The soap - water mixture is not a true solution, rather, it
is considered a colloidal solution because it is a heterogeneous mixture. Also, it has a dispersion medium
which is liquid and dispersed phase that is solid.

CHEM 20 LAB EXPERIMENT NO. 8 FATS AND OILS; SOAPS AND DETERGENTS 3
2. What is a colloidal mixture? Why does a colloidal mixture arise when soap is mixed with water?
A colloidal mixture is a heterogeneous mixture. However, its particles are generally smaller than those in a
suspension. These particles are equally distributed throughout the dispersion medium. A colloidal mixture
has an outer layer of ions with the same charge so that they repel each other. This results in less aggregation
to form particles that are large enough to precipitate. Oil is a pure hydrocarbon; it is non-polar. The non-
polar hydrocarbon tail of the soap dissolves into the oil. The polar carboxylate ion of the soap molecules is
now sticking out of the oil droplets. These spherical clusters are called micelles. They have negatively
charged surfaces where droplets of oil or grease are solubilized in water. Then, they become covered with
soap molecules' hydrophobic nonpolar tails. As a result, the oil droplets repel each other and remain
suspended in the solution to be washed away by a stream of water.

3. Based on the litmus paper test, are the soap-water and detergent-water mixtures respectively acidic,
basic, or neutral?
The soap-water mixture is basic because the red litmus paper turned blue. While, the detergent-water
mixture is neutral since neither paper has changes in color.

4. Based on your observations, what are the limitations of soap that are overcome by synthetic
detergents?
The limitations observed in soap that are overcome by synthetic detergent are (1) soap does not work well
with hard water, especially those that contains Ca2+. The soap produced scum and there are only little
bubbles present, making it harder to rinse off with hard water and, (2) unlike the detergent, soap is not a
good emulsifier in kerosene. The kerosene stayed on top of the soap solution while it mixed with the
detergent solution and produced more bubbles.

5. Which has a greater emulsifying power in “hard” water; soap or synthetic detergent? Support your
answer based on your results.
Synthetic detergent has a greater emulsifying power in "hard" water than the soap. This is because
detergents contain substances that reduce the "hardness" of the water. These substances take the calcium
and magnesium in hard water and bubbles are produced. However, soap reacts with the calcium and
magnesium, creating soap scum, which is an insoluble precipitate. That is why in the experiment, the
detergent easily created more bubbles in hard water but the soap produced little to no bubbles. In
addition, synthetic detergent also works best in a saline water or acidic water.

6. Briefly explain the difference in solubility of coconut oil in water and chloroform.
The term "like dissolves like" applies to the solubility of a substance, which means that a solute will dissolve
best in a solvent with a similar structure to itself. In this case, coconut oil is insoluble in water since water
is a polar solvent, it will not dissolve coconut oil which is nonpolar. Coconut oil is soluble in chloroform
since it is a nonpolar organic compound same as chloroform.

CHEM 20 LAB EXPERIMENT NO. 8 FATS AND OILS; SOAPS AND DETERGENTS 4
7. Which of the samples tested with bromine reagent contains a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty
acids? Explain your answer based on the experimental data.
The corn oil has a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids compared to the coconut oil because it
needed a higher amount (more drops) of bromine in order to change its color to a faint yellow.

8. Which of the samples tested for the drying action of oil can be used as an ingredient of paints and
varnishes? Support your answer.
Linseed oil since it has an excellent drying characteristic which is suitable for manufacturing paints and
varnishes. When linseed oil exposed to air, it gets oxidized, dried and form a protective layer. They have
superior drying quality; thus, linseed oil makes a perfect vehicle for pigments. They allow binding pigments
in oil paints, good varnish in wood finishing, and plasticizer.

CHEM 20 LAB EXPERIMENT NO. 8 FATS AND OILS; SOAPS AND DETERGENTS 5