Washing up Before Eating

Why does soap work?

by Blake McQuarters

Why do people recommend 30 seconds to wash your hands? What is chemical is better for washing your hands? Soap right! The thing that is in every bathroom that bubble up and if you unfortunate to taste, well I’m sorry for you.

Two important compounds are surfactant and triglycerides. Triglycerides ester are made from glycerol and fatty acid. This is what form surfactants. The chemical formula for the triglycerides C₅₅H₉₈O₆. Surfactant is a compound

that lowers the surface tension between two liquids. Surface tension is the keeps liquid molecules together. Water has a stronger surface tension because it is a polar molecule. Polar molecules stay together because they all have charges. The different charges are attracted to each other. When fatty acid is in water, it does not dissolve because it is non-polar.

This is a triglyceride.

This is why people prefer using soap over hand-sanitizer. When you wash your hands you are removing dirt and anything else that can make you sick. Soap is able to clean your hands because the soap molecule has one part that is hydrophobic and another part that is hydrophilic. This is a good thing because soap needs to be able to dissolve polar and nonpolar molecules. Micelle help get germs off your hands easier because oil and grease are in the center of Micelle.

Now you can recommend soap to wash people's hands. Next time you wash your hands, notice the power of soap. This is a wonderful way to sound super smart to your family and friends.