Consider the following statements regarding soaps and synthetic detergents: 1. Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of long-chain carboxylic acids. 2. Synthetic detergents can lather effectively even in hard water containing calcium and magnesium ions. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Soaps are indeed sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids containing long aliphatic chains, but they form insoluble precipitates with calcium and magnesium ions present in hard water. Synthetic detergents utilize alkylbenzenesulfonates or similar polar heads that do not precipitate with hard water minerals, allowing them to lather effectively in any water condition. Both statements correctly distinguish their chemical properties.