Question

Write the difference between soap and detergent.

Answer 1

The differences between soap and detergent are as follows:

Soap	Detergent
1. Vegetable oil and $NaOH$ react to form soap.	1. Detergent are $Na$ or $K$ salts of sulphonic acids.
2. Soap contains $COONa$ functional group.	2. The functional group in detergent is $S{O}_{3}Na$ .
3. Soap reacts with the salts of $Ca$ and $Mg$ of hard water to form insoluble salts of $Ca$ and $Mg$.	3. Detergents react with salts of $Ca$ and $Mg$ to form soluble salts and so, there are no waste detergents.