General chemistryLesson 1 of 3 in the course Liquids and Solids

Viscosity, Surface Tension, Wetting, and Capillary Action

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Liquids differ in how easily they flow. This lesson explores viscosity, the factors that affect it, and ways to compare the flow of different liquids.

Viscosity is a measure of a liquid’s resistance to flow. Water and gasoline flow readily and have relatively low viscosities. Honey, syrup, and motor oil flow more slowly and have higher viscosities.

All flashcards

Viscosity
A liquid’s resistance to flow; more viscous liquids flow less readily.
Cohesive and adhesive forces
Cohesive forces attract molecules of the same substance; adhesive forces attract different substances.
Surface tension
The energy required to increase a liquid’s surface area.
Meniscus
The curved surface of a liquid in a container.
Capillary-rise equation
The height is given by h=2Tcos⁡θrρgh = \frac{2T\cos\theta}{r\rho g}.

Quiz questions

  1. What does surface tension measure?Answer: The energy required to increase a liquid’s surface area.
  2. Why do small liquid drops tend to become spherical?Answer: A sphere has the smallest surface area for a given volume.
  3. When does a liquid tend to wet a solid surface?Answer: When attraction to the surface is strong relative to cohesion within the liquid.
  4. According to the capillary-rise relationship, what happens to rise height when tube radius decreases, with other factors fixed?Answer: The rise height increases.
  5. In the capillary-rise equation, what effect does greater liquid density have when the other quantities are fixed?Answer: It decreases the rise height.

Based on Chemistry 2e by Paul Flowers, Klaus Theopold, Richard Langley, William R. Robinson, PhD (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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