Question

Explain why and how the polar covalent bonds found in water molecules are responsible for water's ability to dissolve many substances, particularly ionic compounds such as salt.

Answer 1

Part A: Water molecules are polar, meaning that they are neutrally charged overall, but with partial positive charges on the H atoms and a partial negative charge on the O atom. Thus, polar molecules like the salt, are like the water, neutrally charged and its ions interact with both the partially positive and partially negative parts of the H2O molecules.
 then
Part B: In a dissolution of salt in water, the solvent is the water and solute is the salt. Solvent is a substance that allows the dispersion of another substance in itself, like the water in this solution. A solute is a substance that can be dissolved, dispersed in a solvent.

Answer 2

Mostly all ionic compounds dissolves in water because molecules present in the water hydrates the ions. Water is a formation of polar molecules hydrogen (partial +ve) and oxygen ( partial -ve) respectively. When a pinch of salt is poured in water, it breaks into na+ (Sodium positive) and Cl- ( chlorine negative) ions respectively and the partially positive hydrogen molecules are attracted to the chlorine anions where as the partially negative oxygen molecules are attracted to the sodium cations Then the formed bond are free to move around the water which makes it to dissolve in water.