[djiang87]

Im just checking if my answer to this question is correct

'why is iodine more soluble in cyclohexane then in water'

This is the answer i got:

Water is polar and cyclohexane is non polar. Substances with like polarities mix together better. Since iodine is non polar, iodine is more soluble in cyclohexane than in water.

[vhpk]

Yes, I think u're correct, " like dissolves like"

[pilgrim3927]

Confirming answer is correct. Iodine is non-polar and cyclohexane is non-polar.
Water is polar. Like dissolves like and so Iodine is soluble in cyclohexane but very limited solubility in water if at all.
In Iodine the bond between the 2 iodine atoms is covalent and non-polar.
Hexane is non-polar but for different reasons - the net polarity is zero because it is a symmetric molecule.
Water is polar because the O-H bonds are ionic and therefore polar. The molecule has a bent configuration H- O     and so has a net polarity.   
                                |
                                H           Suggest you get to understand electronegativities and ionic and covalent bonding.

[djiang87]

Thx for the replies guys. This was just some prework i had to do before prac. I dont rly need to know any of this stuff for my subject as none of our pracs are even slightly related to our studies. I just needed to answer some questions to get the marks. However i did get to see first hand how water and cyclohexane dont mix at all. This made things very annoying when i was trying to clean out the pipettes that had cyclohexane in it. This brings me to another question. Whats the best way to clean a pipette which has cyclohexane in it?