Explain the mechanism of the cleaning action of soaps.

Explanation

Soap moecule has two ends. One end is hydrophilic and another end is hydrophobic. In other words, one end is lipophobic (hydrophilic) and another end is lipophobic (hydrophobic). When soap is dissolved in water and clothes are put in the soapy solution, the hydrophobic ends of soap molecules entrap dirt and converge in a typical fashion to make a structure called a micelle. Micelle is a spherical structure. In the formation of micelle, the hydrophilic end is outside the sphere and hydrophobic end is towards the centre of the sphere. Micelle is rinsed away from clothes.