Surface Tension

Most things that you see and feel are made of tiny particles
called molecules. Molecules are made up of even tinier particles called
atoms. Do you remember what we learned about atoms? There are
only 90 kinds of atoms in nature, but different combinations of atoms
make up millions of billions of different molecules that we see around
us.
Water is one molecule that you are already familiar with.

water molecule is made of three atoms: 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen

atom. This is why we call it H2O.

Molecules like to pull together to stop themselves from breaking

up.

Today, you will explore how water molecules pull each other

together.

Experiments

Experiment 1
So, lets experiment with surface tension!

We will see how

dishwashing liquid changes how strong water molecules hold together.

You will need

Spoon
Water
Clean table top
Toothpick
Dishwashing liquid

Method
1. Dip the spoon in some water and then drip it onto the table top.
The water molecules should hold together in little dome shapes.

Water molecules pull in together to

make a round drop.

2. Now, touch the water droplets with the toothpick dipped in

dishwashing liquid. What happens to the water as soon as you
touch it with the soapy toothpick?

Are the water molecules

pulling together more strongly or more weakly?

Chemicals in dishwashing liquid

get in the way of water molecules.

Experiment 2
If water molecules can tug on each other, cant they also tug on
things that are afloat? Lets see!

You will need:

Water
Pie tin
Pepper
Dishwashing liquid

Method
1. Fill the pie tin with water, and sprinkle some pepper onto the
surface.
2.

Now, gently touch the water with the toothpick dipped in

dishwashing liquid. What happens to the pepper? Why do you
think this happens?
Water molecules pull
towards left and right.

equally

Water molecules pull more weakly on

the side that has soap chemicals

Experiment 3
Now is the time to have some fun! Lets make a boat that moves
by surface tension.

You will need:

Pie tin (pour out all the soapy water)

 Clean water
Spoon
Plastic sheet
Bar of soap

Method
1. Cut the plastic sheet into a shape of a boat (about 1 inch)
2. Scrape the bar of soap with the bottom edge of the boat.
3. Fill the pie tin with clean water, and carefully place the boat onto
the water. What happened to the boat? Can you explain why
this happened?

Boat should look like this.

The What and Whys about Water

1. Explain surface tension.

2. Why can pond skaters swim across the water without sinking?

3. Why cant you skate across the water like pond skaters?

4. Can pond skaters skate across soap water? Why do/dont you think
so?

5. When you spill a droplet of water on a clean table, water molecules

hold together to make a dome shape. What would a water droplet

look like in space, where theres no gravity?