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Question

Why water is called a universal solvent ?


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Solution

Universal solvent

  • Water is also known as the universal solvent because it dissolves more compounds than any other chemical compound.
  • The polarity of each water molecule plays a role in this.
  • Each water molecule has a slight positive electric charge on the hydrogen side and a slight negative charge on the oxygen side.
  • This helps in the dissociation of ionic substances into positive and negative ions in water.
  • The positive portion of an ionic molecule is drawn to the oxygen side of the water, whereas the negative portion is attracted to the hydrogen side.

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