Glucose or sucrose are soluble in water but cyclohexane or benzene (simple six membered ring compounds) are insoluble in water. Explain.
Sucrose possesses eight —OH groups while glucose has five —OH groups which forms intermolecular H-bonds with water because of this extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding, sucrose and glucose are soluble in water. Also, both glucose and sucrose being polar molecules easily dissolve in polar water molecules.
In contrast, benzene or cyclohexane are insoluble in water because of the absence of —OH groups and hence, they do not form H-bonds with water. Further, they both are non-polar compounds, hence they are insoluble in polar water molecule but soluble in non-polar molecules as like dissolves like is the general rule of solubility.