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Soap and Alcohol Works

Washing hands with soap is effective at removing germs because soap molecules have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. The hydrophilic "head" of soap molecules binds to water and the hydrophobic "tail" binds to oils and fats on hands. When soap is added to water, the molecules form micelles with hydrophilic heads facing outwards that can surround and remove oils and bacteria from the skin. Soap disrupts the lipid membranes of bacteria and viruses through its interactions with water, thereby eliminating harmful microorganisms.

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jessa marie mareviles
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50 views5 pages

Soap and Alcohol Works

Washing hands with soap is effective at removing germs because soap molecules have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. The hydrophilic "head" of soap molecules binds to water and the hydrophobic "tail" binds to oils and fats on hands. When soap is added to water, the molecules form micelles with hydrophilic heads facing outwards that can surround and remove oils and bacteria from the skin. Soap disrupts the lipid membranes of bacteria and viruses through its interactions with water, thereby eliminating harmful microorganisms.

Uploaded by

jessa marie mareviles
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MAREVILES, JESSA MARIE A.

BSED-SCIENCE III

Many germs and viruses, may dwell on our hands and enter our body when contact on
our eyes, nose, mouth, or food. Washing your hands with soap and water on a regular
basis is one of the most efficient strategies to eradicate harmful bacteria and avoid
getting sick. But how does it function when washing?

- Soap breaks bacteria and


other
microorganisms up and
eliminates them.
As a result of our daily tasks
we frequently
get oil and dirt on our hands
and germs
can adhere to oil or grease on
our hands
when they are filthy.

But oil does not interact with water, thus


using water alone to clean our
hands is
ineffective.

Grease and bacteria are still


sticking on
our hands that is why we use
soap when
washing our hands. Because
soap is
composed up of pin-shaped
molecules, to
have a view of it, it looks like a tadpole
that have a hydrophilic head that readily
binds with water and a hydrophobic tail
that avoids water and prefers to bond with
oils and fats.

When floating in water, these molecules


alternatively float around as solitary units,
interact with other molecules in the solution,
and assemble themselves into little bubbles
called micelles, with heads facing outward and
tails curled within.

Some bacteria and viruses have double-layered


micelle-like lipid membranes with two bands of
hydrophobic tails sandwiched between two rings
of hydrophilic heads. These membranes are
densely packed with crucial proteins that allow
viruses to infect cells and carry out essential
functions that keep bacteria alive. When the
soap molecules' water-shunning tails wedge
themselves into the lipid membrane and pry it
apart.
This figure shows the
difference between using
soap and sanitizer. While
soap micelles encircle
and help wash away oils,
ethanol molecules attack
and kill bacteria cells.
Hand
sanitizers are
not as effective
as soap. Sanitizers containing at least 60% ethanol work in a similar way, killing
bacteria and viruses by disrupting their lipid membranes. However, they are unable to
readily eliminate bacteria from the skin. There are additional viruses that do not require
lipid membranes to infect cells, as well as bacteria that defend their sensitive
membranes with protein and sugar shields.
How soap eliminates bacteria and any other microorganisms?

Strong covalent connections connect the hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms in soap.
The sodium molecule's attachment to the carboxylate head's end forms the sole ionic
link in soap. The sodium atom possesses one electron in its outermost valence shell,
which leads to the formation of the ionic bond. To become stable, it has to either receive
or lose one electron. With a total of 6 valence electrons, the oxygen atom is unstable
and requires 8 to be. The oxygen atom at the carboxylate head's tip obtains an electron
from the sodium atom and shares an electron covalently with the carbon atom. The
difference in their electrical charges causes the sodium atom and oxygen atom to be
drawn to one another. This link is known as a ionic bond because the attraction occurs
between ions or atoms having a positive or negative electrical charge.
Dirt are typically where we find germs on our hands. Oils are used to bind dirt and. The
sodium atom totally separates from the soap molecule when it is submerged in water,
sharing its lone electron with the oxygen atom. Sodium transforms into a positively
charged ion. The carboxylate head of the soap's oxygen atom takes up a negative
charge. The slightly negatively charged oxygen atom of the water molecule attracts the
positively charged sodium ion. Because the sodium ion is bound to one of the water
molecule's poles, this attraction is known as an ion-dipole interaction.

The hydrocarbon tails and carboxylate heads that remain after the sodium ions separate
when soap dissolves in water are negatively charged at the head. They have an oxygen
ion that is negatively charged at the head, to be more precise. The attraction between
the slightly positively charged hydrogen atoms in the water molecules and the negatively
charged oxygen of the carboxylate heads causes hydrogen bonds to form as the soap
dissolves.

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