Soap Molecules and Oil

Open to everyone until Thursday, October 1

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Soap molecules have a round head that mixes with water and a wavy tail that mixes with oil. They gather around an oil droplet, with tails inside and heads outside, so water can carry the whole cluster away.

In the picture

The oil droplet: a yellow blob that grease and oil form.
The round head: the water-loving end of a soap molecule.
The wavy tail: the oil-loving end that sits inside the droplet.
The water: the blue liquid around the cluster.
The current: the moving stream that carries the cluster along.

Examples

Washing a greasy frying pan with dish soap.
Shampoo lifting oils from hair.

Key takeaways

Soap molecules have one end that mixes with water and one end that mixes with oil.
The soap cluster lets water lift grease away instead of leaving it on a surface.