Re: How does soap break the surface tension of water?

Dear Joy, You are essentially correct. Soap works by reducing surface tension.
When you wash with soap what you are trying to do is dissolve the grease
and oil that is on your skin into the water.  Water and oil don't mix
well, which is another way of saying that the surface where the water

tension the water will just run off without carrying any (greasy) dirt
with it.     Soap molecules have two very different ends.  One end likes to dissolve
in water and the other in oil.  When you add soap to water it happily
mixes with the oil because the oil-loving part of the soap is on the
top of the water surface facing out. Thus the grease will dissolve in
(soapy) water and get rinsed away. For fun you might try mixing a jar
half full of water and oil and then shaking it up and seeing how long
it takes separate.  Next add some soap and repeat the experiment.
By the way, an alternate way to get clean is to wash in oil rather
than water.  The oil on your skin is happy to dissolve in the oil you
wash with.  The ancient Romans supposedly washed by rinsing
themselves with oil and then scraping it off.