Why does HCl dissociate in water but not in methylbenzene?

Water is a polar solvent and methylbenzene is a non-polar solvent. A polar solvent will have positive and negative charge (in water, oxygen is slightly more negative and the hydrogen is slightly positive) whereas methylbenzene is netral throughout. HCl will dissociate in water because HCl is also a polar molecule (Cl is slightly negative and H is slightly positive). The Cl will be attracted to the slightly positive H in water and the H will be attracted to the slightly negative O in water. The HCl molecule will dissociate as a result because of these strong attractions. With methylbenzene, no such attraction exists, thus HCl will not dissociate.

Answered by Kartika A. Chemistry tutor

35773 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Which factors should be altered in chemical reaction between zinc (s) and hydrochloric acid (l) in order to speed up the rate of reaction?


The student did another experiment using 20 cm3 of sodium hydroxide solution with a concentration of 0.18 mol/dm3 . Relative formula mass (Mr) of NaOH = 40 Calculate the mass of sodium hydroxide in 20 cm3 of this solution.


Explain, in terms of its structure and bonding, why magnesium oxide has a very high melting point (4).


How can I check if my reaction equations are correct?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences