thanks ryley
also, in the report it said
has a polar end that bonds with water and a non-polar end that bonds with petrol. Is this 'bond' just dispersion forces? Also for petrol do we just assume
?
It's a bit incorrect to say the non-polar end 'bonds' with the petrol.
Polar molecules have dipoles, and the molecules have intermolecular attraction. When immersed in a non-polar solvent, the attraction between polar molecules is much greater than attraction between polar and non-polar (i.e. the polar would much rather be around other polar molecules because attraction is greater). The result is the two are immiscible.
For ethanol however, it has the polar hydroxy, and a non-polar ethyl. In non-polar solvents, the attraction between ethanol molecules isn't strong enough to maintain their proximity, hence the molecules are dispersed in the solvent. the two are miscible.
In polar solvents, polar liquids are miscible because attraction between the solvent/solute is comparable to attraction between solvent/solvent. Hence there is no particular 'preference' for the solvent, and no separation occurs.
Non-polar liquids are not soluble in polar solvents because the attraction between solvent/solvent is greater than solvent/solute.