What term describes a mixture where the oil is the continuous phase and water droplets are dispersed?

• A. Gels
• B. O/W emulsions
• C. Water-soluble bases
• D. W/O emulsions

Answer: (D)

Emulsions are mixtures of two immiscible liquids where one forms droplets dispersed in the other, with a stabilizing agent to keep the droplets from coalescing. If the continuous, surrounding liquid is oil and water exists as droplets within that oil, you have a water-in-oil emulsion. That matches the description: oil is the continuous phase and water droplets are dispersed inside it. The other options don’t fit this arrangement—gels are not emulsions, water-soluble bases aren’t emulsions, and oil-in-water would have water as the continuous phase with oil droplets dispersed in it. So the appropriate term is water-in-oil emulsion.