Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid because
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) it is dipolar in nature
Water dissolves so many substances because its molecule is dipolar (polar): the oxygen end carries a slight negative charge and the hydrogen end a slight positive charge. These charged ends attract ions and other polar molecules and pull them apart, so they dissolve.
- ✓ (a) The two charged ends of a water molecule attract the particles of many solids, such as the ions in common salt, and separate them into the liquid.
- ✗ (b) Conducting heat well has nothing to do with dissolving. Water is in fact a poor conductor of heat compared with metals.
- ✗ (c) High specific heat means water needs a lot of heat to change its temperature. It explains slow heating and cooling, not solvent power.
- ✗ (d) Being an oxide of hydrogen only describes water's composition (H2O). Many other compounds are oxides and dissolve little or nothing.
Remember · Water is called the universal solvent because its molecule is polar (dipolar), with a positive and a negative end that pull other substances apart.
Sources
- U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School: Why is water the "universal solvent"? (archived copy) ↗ “Water molecules have a polar arrangement of the oxygen and hydrogen atoms—one side (hydrogen) has a positive electrical charge and the other side (oxygen) had a negative charge.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·