Question

Which statement best explains water’s ability to dissolve covalent compounds?
Water can dissolve polar covalent compounds through dipole-dipole interactions.
Water can dissolve nonpolar covalent compounds through hydrogen-bonding interactions.
Water can dissolve polar covalent compounds through ion-dipole interactions.
Water can dissolve nonpolar covalent compounds through dipole-dipole interactions.

Answer 1

"Water can dissolve polar covalent compounds through dipole-dipole interactions."

Explanation: water is polar and solvates other polar molecules by aligning its partial charges with opposite partial charges on the solute (including specific hydrogen bonding when N, O, or F are present). Nonpolar covalent molecules cannot form these favorable interactions and are poorly soluble.