Question

why sodium chloride soluble in water but not in kerosene

Answer 1

Dear student,

Like dissolves like, i.e. polar solutes are soluble in polar solvents and non-polar solutes in non-polar solvents.

Sodium chloride is an ionic salt (it is polar in nature because of the presence of positive and negative charge). It is easily soluble in polar solvents such as water, where it ionises into its constituent Na⁺ and Cl^- ions.
NaCl (aqueous) → Na⁺ (aq) + Cl^- (aq)

Kerosene, on the other hand, is a non-polar solvent (it does not have charge separation). Hence, it does not dissolve a polar molecule like NaCl.

Regards