What is the chemical difference between detergent and soap?

What is the difference between soap and detergent as to their structural formula?

  • Answer:

    Soap is sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids, and these days is usually used only for cleaning human skin, but in the past was used for many other cleaning purposes. Detergent is a substance used for cleaning, so soap is a type of detergent. Detergents are often surfactants (as is soap), which help to dissolve oils in water, useful in cleaning dirty dishes or greasy skin. Both detergent and soap can be harmful to skin (but are not always), and neither form kill or remove 100% of bacteria

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