AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Water, the Universal Solvent | U.S. Geological Survey.

Detailed explanation-2: -Thanks to its ability to dissolve a wide range of solutes, water is sometimes called the “universal solvent.” However, this name isn’t entirely accurate, since there are some substances (such as oils) that don’t dissolve well in water.

Detailed explanation-3: -Water is called a ‘universal solvent’ because water can dissolve much more substances than any other liquid found in nature but water cannot dissolve every substance. For example-water cannot dissolve fats, waxes, and hydroxides due to the low solubility of oppositely charged particles.