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Related Activities SURFACE TENSION AND CAPILLARY ACTION

Mass
WHAT IS SURFACE TENSION?
What is Force?
Surface tension is a property of liquids that arises from unbalanced molecular cohesive forces at
What is Work?
or near a surface. At an air water interface the surface tension results from the greater attraction
What is Energy? of water molecules to each other (due to cohesion) than to the molecules in the air (due to
What is Power? adhesion). The net effect is an inward force at its surface that causes water to behave as if its
surface were covered with a stretched elastic membrane. Because of the relatively high attraction
Units and Measurements
of water molecules for each other, water has a high surface tension.
Surface tension arises from the strong interactions between water molecules, called hydrogen
bonding. It is this strong interaction which also manifests in the other unusual property of water
such as its high boiling point.
SCIENCE OF FLUIDS
Surface tension of water also manifests as the so-called hydrophobic effect. Hydrophobic
Science of Fluids molecules tend to be non-polar and, thus, prefer other neutral molecules and non-polar solvents--
What are_fluids? "water- hating". A hydrophilic molecule or portion of a molecule is one that has a tendency to
What is Pressure? interact with or be dissolved by water and other polar substances --"water-loving" -- See also: How
What is Hydrostatic does soap work?
Pressure?
Surface Tension and
Capillary Action?
Pascal's Principle
The cohesive forces between molecules in a liquid are shared
Archimedes Principle
with all neighboring molecules. Those on the surface have no
What is Viscosity? neighboring molecules above and, thus, exhibit stronger
What is the difference attractive forces upon their nearest neighbors on and below
between adhesion and the surface.
cohesion?
Bernoulli's Principle For molecules in center of water, all attractive forces are
balanced.

On the surface, molecules have unbalanced surface ... fluid

tries to minimize it's surface area. This is why water forms a
drop. the surf race tries to minimize area

and inside liquid is under pressure.

image edited from USGS.gov

Applets

BIOLOGY

The meniscus is the curve in the upper surface of a liquid close

JUST MOLECULES to the surface of the container or another object. It is caused by
surface tension. It can be either convex or concave, depending
FLUID PRESSURE
on the liquid and the surface.
BIOCHEMISTRY LAB
A shown on Left -- a concave meniscus occurs when the
particles of the liquid are more strongly attracted to the
MATHEMATICS container than to each other, causing the liquid to climb the
walls of the container. This occurs between water and glass.

B shown on Right -- a convex meniscus occurs when the

EARTH AND SPACE particles in the liquid have a stronger attraction to each other
SCIENCE than to the material of the container. Convex menisci occur, for
example, between mercury and glass in barometers.
PHYSICS
Note: Cohesive attraction or cohesive force is the action or
property of similar molecules sticking together, being mutually
attractive. Cohesion, along with adhesion (attraction between
unlike molecules), helps explain phenomena such as
meniscus, surface tension and capillary action.
Student and image edited from Reading the Meniscus (Jleedev) Wikipedia.
Teacher Travel

-Study Abroad
Examples of surface tension in action include the following:
-Student Travel
--formation of liquid droplets,
-Spring Break
--the ability of a needle to float on water,
-International --why bubbles are round
Schools --soap being used the break up water tension.
-Travel Guides
 Surface tension has the dimension of force per unit length, or of energy per unit area. The two are
-Budget Travel
equivalent—but when referring to energy per unit of area, people use the term surface energy—
which is a more general term in the sense that it applies also to solids and not just liquids.
Surface tension, usually represented by the symbol γ, is measured in force per unit length. Its SI
unit is newton per meter.
In terms of energy: surface tension --gamma-- of a liquid is the ratio of the change in the energy of
the liquid to the change in the surface area of the liquid (that led to the change in energy).

for a derivation of the formula see: wikipedia surface tension

This work W can be interpreted as being stored as potential energy. Thus, surface tension can be
also measured in the SI system as joules per square meter. Since mechanical systems try to find
a state of minimum potential energy, a free droplet of liquid water will try to assume a spherical
shape, which has the minimum surface area for a given volume.
WHAT IS CAPILLARY ACTION?
TRY THIS: FILL A GLASS WITH DILUTED GRAPE JUICE AS SHOWN BELOW. FOLD A PAPER TOWEL TO
CONNECT THE TWO GLASSES...OBSERVE WHAT HAPPENS OVER SEVERAL HOURS...

AFTER 20 MINUTES -- WATER IS MOVING AFTER 2 HOURS -- MOSTLY WATER HAS AFTER 4 HOURS -- SOME PIGMENT HAS
UP THE PAPER TOWEL MOVED INTO THE SECOND GLASS MOVING

Capillary action occurs because water molecules bond each other strongly due to forces of
cohesion and adhesion where water molecules are attracted and stick to other substances such
as glass or paper. Adhesion of water to the surface of a material will cause an upward force on the
liquid. The surface tension acts to hold the surface intact. Capillary action occurs when the
adhesion to the surface material is stronger than the cohesive forces between the water
molecules. The height to which capillary action will take water is limited by surface tension and
gravity.
Notice in the photos above the effect that gravity has on capillary action. Water being a polar
molecule and low mass moves easily up the paper. The diluted grape juice contains several non-
polar red pigments which are not very soluble in water and do not migrate with the solvent.
If one takes a small capillary tube an inserts it in water and the tube does not have a vacuum like
a barometer but is open at top, water will start to rise up. Water wants to stick to the glass and
surface tension will push the water up, until the force of gravity prevents further rise.

Capillarity is the result of cohesion of water molecules and adhesion of

those molecules to a solid material. In the case of a glass tube inserted
in water with openings at both ends, as the edges of the tube are
brought closer together, such as in a very narrow tube, the liquid will be
drawn upward in the tube. The more narrow the tube, the greater the
rise of the liquid. Greater surface tension and increased ratio of
adhesion to cohesion also result in greater rise.

Since for water in a tube all values are constant except r, radius, the
height of rise is solely dependent on the radius of the tube.

Capillary action is due to the pressure of cohesion and adhesion which cause the liquid to work
against gravity.
Capillary action (sometimes capillarity, capillary motion, or wicking) is the ability of a liquid to flow
in narrow spaces without the assistance of, and in opposition to, external forces like gravity.
CAPILLARY ACTION IN PLANTS
The plant on the left was not watered for 2 days
and allowed to wilt.
 VIDEO OF CAPILLARY ACTION IN
PLANTS
Time Lapse photography was done over a time
span of 2 hours after the plant was watered and
slowly comes back to life...demonstrating
capillary action

----Click on Image----

Capillary action is what draws the water from

soil back up to the leaves.

Capillary action is the process that plants use to pull water and mineral up from the ground. It is is
the movement of liquid along a surface of a solid caused by the attraction of molecules of the
liquid to the molecules of the solid. The molecules of the water (liquid) are attracted to the
molecules inside the stem similar to capillary action of water in a glass tube.
There are three forces involved with the process of capillary action in plants.
1) Adhesion, the process of attracting two dissimilar molecules. For plants, adhesion allows for the
water to stick to the organic tissues of plants.
2)Cohesion keeps similar molecules together. For plants, cohesion keeps the water molecules
together.
3)Surface tension is a property of liquids that arises from unbalanced molecular cohesive forces at
or near a surface..

Test your Understanding:

1. Which statement about adhesion and cohesion are correct
a) Cohesion keeps similar molecules together while adhesion is a repulsive force between similar molecules.
b) Adhesion is an attractive force while cohesion is a repulsive force.
c) Adhesion is an attract force that occurs between similar molecules while cohesion occurs between different types of
molecules.
d) Cohesion is an attractive force between similar molecules while adhesion is between dissimilar molecules.
2. In the SI system, the units for surface tension are:
a) dyne/cm
b) newton/m2
c) newton/m
d) joule/m
3. What contributes to the formation of a meniscus in a graduated cylinder?
a) a meniscus forms as the result of surface tension of the water
b) adhesive and cohesive forces
c) a meniscus forms in a graduated cylinder due to the response of the material of the graduated cylinder (usually glass)
to the liquid contained within.
d) all of the above
4. Why is capillary action important for plants
a) capillary action allows the plant to resist the force of gravity so they can grow upright
b) capillary action draws water and minerals up from the soil to the stems and leaves in plants.
c) capillary action allows plants to overcome the adhesive forces within the plant
d) capillary action allows plants to overcome the cohesive forces with the plant.
5. Why is the meniscus of mercury convex?
a) Mercury is heavier than water
b ) A convex meniscus occurs when the particles of the liquid are more strongly attracted to the container than to each
other, causing the liquid to climb the walls of the container.
c) A convex meniscus occurs when the particles in the liquid have a stronger attraction to each other than to the material
of the container.
Well... How did I do?

Questions or Comments?
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