These molecules have good foaming ability when their head group is anionic. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name these molecules, the main active ingredient of detergents. These amphiphilic molecules aggregate into spherical micelles that remove grease and soiling particles.
ANSWER: surfactants [or surface-active agents; accept anionic surfactants]
[10h] Detergent surfactants reduce the surface tension of water by undergoing this process at the liquid-air interface. Irving Langmuir developed an isotherm model of this process that assumes the formation of a monolayer.
ANSWER: adsorption [accept word forms like adsorbing; accept Langmuir adsorption isotherm or Langmuir adsorption model; prompt on binding; reject “absorption”]
[10e] Many detergents also contain enzymes, biological examples of these substances. These substances increase the rate of chemical reactions but are not consumed in the process.
ANSWER: catalysts
<McGill A, Chemistry>