What are other oils, besides coconut, that are used to make bath soaps?

most common are olive oil, canola oil, rice bran oil, avocado oil, and sweet almond
oil
Based on your research, why is potassium hydroxide used instead of sodium

hydroxide to make certain kinds of soaps?

Potassium hydroxide is slightly smaller than sodium hydroxide which means it cuts through oil

molecules faster than sodium hydroxide. This makes potassium hydroxide a great choice for

soaps that need to remove caked-on oil.

Based on your research, what is a micelle?

Micelles are formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules. The structures contain

hydrophilic/polar region (head) and hydrophobic/non polar region (tail). Micelles are formed in

aqueous solution whereby the polar region faces the outside surface of the micelle and the

non-polar region forms the core.

What is the chemical name of the most common fatty-acid molecule found in coconut

oil?

Lauric acid

How does the split-personality of a soap molecule make it a good cleaning agent?

Soap is an excellent cleanser because of its ability to act as an emulsifying agent. An emulsifier

is capable of dispersing one liquid into another immiscible liquid. This means that while oil

(which attracts dirt) doesn't naturally mix with water, soap can suspend oil/dirt in such a way that

it can be removed.

What is a triglyceride?

Triglycerides are lipid compounds composed of a glycerol esterified to 3 fatty acid chains of

varying length and composition

The procedure for this experiment uses 3-molar (M) sodium hydroxide. What does

the term molar mean?

the amount of a substance in a certain volume of solution. Molarity is defined as the moles of a

solute per liters of a solution. Molarity is also known as the molar

concentration of a solution.