Water as a solvent

[MaiaRodriguezChoi3E]

Why does water's structure/polarity make it a good solvent?

[Tam To 1B]

Water has a bent shape and this makes it a universal solvent because the positive and negative ends are furthest from each other. Since the H atoms give off a positive charge and oxygen gives off a negative charge, molecules of either charge are able to attract to water. Water's polar covalent character and particular shape allows it to dissolve many other substances that are polar covalent. Oxygen's greater electronegativity compared to hydrogen also allows it to dissolve substances with ionic character.

[Sarah_Kang_2K]

Water is considered the universal solvent because:
Water molecules carry partial charges (the hydrogen side of the water molecule carries a slight positive electric charge, while the oxygen side carries a slight negative electric charge).
This structure allows water molecules to dissociate ionic compounds into their positive and negative ions. The positive part of an ionic compound is attracted to the oxygen side of water while the negative portion of the compound is attracted to the hydrogen side of the water