Lecture #31
Text: Chapter 19, Sections 1, 3, 4.
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Lecture Outline

 Molecular Basis of Solubility (continued)

Oxidation Numbers

Transition metals
Vitamin A shown here is essentially a nonpolar molecule. It is very polarizable because of its "size" (and also because pi electrons are very polarizable, a detail we haven't worried about and will not). Consequently, it is not very soluble in water but quite soluble in a nonpolar solvent such as "fat" (which is mostly hydrocarbon-like in nature).
In contrast to Vitamin A, you can see here from the structure of Vitamin C that extensive hydrogen bonding with solvent water molecules should be possible, explaining why it is a water soluble vitamin.
Acetic acid, as a small, polar molecule capable of hydrogen bonding with water is very soluble in water. You might reasonably expect it to be insolube in nonpolar solvents. However, a subtle phenomenon causes acetic acid to be soluble in nonpolar solvents as well. See below.
Our rules for oxidation numbers. These are "heirarchical", that is, each rule's rank determines their importance relative to other rules. They are not the same as in Table 4.3.
Oxidation number rules continued
Oxidation number rules continued