ABSTRACT

Surface tension of a liquid is the tangential force acting parallel to the surface
of a liquid causing the liquid to behave like an elastic skin. This research is to
determine the surface tension of some selected liquids (Water, Ethanol,
Glycerine) and to ascertain the effect of temperature on these liquids. The
surface tension of water was found to be 72.913N/m, that of ethanol and
glycerine were found to be 27.105N/m and 62.421N/m. Temperature was found
to be a vital factor on the surface tension of these liquids as continual increase
showed significant decrease in surface tension.

1
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Surface tension is due to unbalanced cohesive forces at the interface of

liquid, gases or between two immiscible liquids.

A liquid molecule on the interior of the liquid body has other molecules on all

sides of it, so that the forces of attraction are in equilibrium and the molecule

remain equally attracted on all the sides. On the other hand a liquid molecule

at the surface of the liquid i.e. at the interface between a liquid and a gas (air)

does not have any liquid molecule above it and consequently there exit a net

downward force on the molecule due to the attraction of the molecules below

it (Demtroder, 2016).

Molecule A which is below the free surface of liquid is surrounded by

various corresponding molecules and consequently under the influence of

balanced cohesive forces on all sides and hence in equilibrium while molecule

B is on the surface of the liquid due to which it is under the influence of net

downward force (unbalanced cohesive force). This force on the molecules at

the liquid surface is normal to the liquid surface. Due to the attraction of liquid

molecules below the surface, a film or a membrane is formed at the surface

2
which can resist small tensile load. For example: A small needle placed gently

upon the water surface will not sink but will be supported by the tension at the

water surface.

3
Fig. 1: Diagram illustrating the nature of the molecules of water under the influence of

balanced cohesive forces (After USGS Water Science School, 2015; Retrieved June

5, 2020)

4
 At the interface between two materials physical properties change

rapidly over distances comparable to the molecular separation scale. Since a

molecule at the interface is exposed to a different environment than inside the

material, it will also have a different binding energy (Adam, 1941).

In the continuum limit where the transition layer becomes a mathematical

surface separating one material from the other, the difference in molecular

binding energy manifests itself as a macroscopic surface energy density. And

where energy is found, forces are not far away.

The effect of surface tension is observed in many everyday situations. For

example, a slowly leaking faucet drips because the force of surface tension

allows the water to cling to it until a sufficient mass of water is accumulated to

break free. Surface tension can cause a steel needle to “float” on the surface of

water although its density is much higher than that of water. The surface of a

liquid can be thought of as having a skin that is under tension. A liquid droplet

is somewhat analogous to a balloon filled with air. The elastic skin of the

balloon contains the air inside at a slightly higher pressure than the surrounding

air. The surface of a liquid droplet likewise contains the liquid in the droplet at

a pressure that is slightly higher than ambient. A clean liquid surface, however,

is not elastic like a rubber skin. The tension in a piece of rubber increases as it

5
is stretched and will eventually rupture. A clean liquid surface can be expanded

indefinitely without changing the surface tension (Gorban and Karlin, 2016).

This study attempts to use the drop count method or Stalagmometer method to

obtain the surface tension of the selected liquids.

1.2 Aim of Study

The aim of this study is to determine and obtain the surface tension of some

selected liquids (Water, Ethanol, Glycerine and Soap Solution) as well as

assess the temperature effects on surface tension.

1.3 Objectives of Study

The objectives of this study are:

1. To obtain the weight of a single drop of water

2. To obtain the weights of single drops of the other liquids and compare

them with that of water.

3. To assess the temperature effects on surface tension by simple

laboratory test.

6
1.4 Significance of Study

Surface tension is a phenomenon that affects our everyday life. We can

find numerous examples where surface tension plays a role. If the surface

tension of water is much lower, nothing would really float on top. The

smallest particle would sink to the bottom causing the failure of the

ecosystem. Furthermore, there would not really be water in a liquid form

as it would simply evaporate to the atmosphere.

1.5 Limitation of Study

The limitations of this study include:

i. Time: There was limited time to put all the apparatus together and carry

out the investigation due to the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the

world.

ii. Finance: Availability of finance was a hindrance as not all that was

desired was done.

7
 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Review of Related Works

Navascues (1979), reviewed the theory of equilibrium of liquid surfaces

from the macroscopic (thermodynamic) and microscopic (statistical) points of

view. Emphasis was placed on the surface tension, other surface

thermodynamic quantities were treated, especially the contact angle and work

of adhesion. The Gibbs scheme was used to describe the surface

thermodynamics. The equivalent hydrostatic approach, the curvature

dependence of the surface tension and its relation to other surface quantities

were presented. The effect of solid surface topology on the contact angle was

discussed, together with the controversial Young's equation. Good's and

Fowkes' theories were described and criticised from the statistical point of

view. The surface tension theories for simple liquids, simple metals and solid-

fluid interphases were deduced from a single statistical mechanical formalism.

Zhang (2009), stated that Surface tension is an important concept in fluid

mechanics. However, a convincing demonstration of the existence of surface

tension is absent in textbooks. To fill such a gap, he presented a clear,

convenient and easily understandable method to introduce surface tension to

8
engineering students. His method also fits the students’ knowledge background

well.

His research is an alternative method presented to demonstrate and introduce

surface tension to engineering students. This method was based on the static

force balance analysis by using a free-body diagram, which had been discussed

in the first-year statics class. Compared with the pressure measurement and

energy analysis methods mentioned, this novel method was clear, convenient

and easily understandable to engineering students.

2.2 Overview of the Theory of Surface Tension

Surface Tension is the property of the surface of a liquid that allows it

to resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of its molecules. It can be

seen as is the tendency of liquid surfaces to shrink into the minimum surface

area possible. Surface tension allows insects (like water striders), usually

denser than water, to float and slide on a water surface.

At liquid–air interfaces, surface tension results from the greater attraction of

liquid molecules to each other (due to cohesion) than to the molecules in the

air (due to adhesion). The cohesive forces between liquid molecules are

responsible for the phenomenon known as surface tension. The molecules at

9
the surface of a glass of water do not have other water molecules on all sides

of them and consequently they cohere more strongly to those directly

associated with them (in this case, next to and below them, but not above). It

is not really true that a "skin" forms on the water surface; the stronger cohesion

between the water molecules as opposed to the attraction of the water

molecules to the air makes it more difficult to move an object through the

surface than to move it when it is completely submersed (Demtroder, 2016).

There are two primary mechanisms in play. One is an inward force on the

surface molecules causing the liquid to contract. Second is a tangential force

parallel to the surface of the liquid. Because of the relatively high attraction of

water molecules to each other through a web of hydrogen bonds, water has a

higher surface tension (72.8 milli-newtons (mN)) per meter at 20 °C) than most

other liquids. Surface tension is an important factor in the phenomenon of

capillarity.

2.3 Molecular Explanation and Causes of Surface Tension

Water molecules want to cling to each other. At the surface, however,

there are fewer water molecules to cling to since there is air above (thus, no

water molecules). This results in a stronger bond between those molecules that

10
actually do come in contact with one another, and a layer of strongly bonded

water. This surface layer (held together by surface tension) creates a

considerable barrier between the atmosphere and the water. In fact, other than

mercury, water has the greatest surface tension of any liquid. Within a body of

a liquid, a molecule will not experience a net force because the forces by the

neighboring molecules all cancel out. However for a molecule on the surface

of the liquid, there will be a net inward force since there will be no attractive

force acting from above. This inward net force causes the molecules on the

surface to contract and to resist being stretched or broken. Thus the surface is

under tension, which is probably where the name "surface tension" came from

(Berry, 1971).

Due to the surface tension, small objects will "float" on the surface of a fluid,

as long as the object cannot break through and separate the top layer of water

molecules. When an object is on the surface of the fluid, the surface under

tension will behave like an elastic membrane (USGS, 1965).

11
Fig. 2: Diagram showing how water molecules interact to show bonds and exhibit surface tension

(After USGS, 1965)

12
 Due to the cohesive forces a molecule is pulled equally in every

direction by neighboring liquid molecules, resulting in a net force of zero. The

molecules at the surface do not have the same molecules on all sides of them

and therefore are pulled inward. This creates some internal pressure and forces

liquid surfaces to contract to the minimum area.

There is also a tension parallel to the surface at the liquid-air interface which

will resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of water molecules.

The forces of attraction acting between the molecules of same type are called

cohesive forces while those acting between the molecules of different types are

called adhesive forces. The balance between the cohesion of the liquid and its

adhesion to the material of the container determines the degree of wetting, the

contact angle and the shape of meniscus. When cohesion dominates

(specifically, adhesion energy is less than half of cohesion energy) the wetting

is low and the meniscus is convex at a vertical wall (as for mercury in a glass

container). On the other hand, when adhesion dominates (adhesion energy

more than half of cohesion energy) the wetting is high and the similar meniscus

is concave as in water in a glass (Adam, 1941).

13
2.4 Physics of Surface Tension

Surface tension has the dimension of force per unit length, or of energy

per unit area. The two are equivalent, but when referring to energy per unit of

area, it is common to use the term surface energy, which is a more general term

in the sense that it applies also to solids.

In materials science, surface tension is used for either surface stress or surface

energy.

Surface tension, represented by the symbol γ (alternatively σ or T), is measured

in force per unit length. Its SI unit is newton per meter but the cgs unit of dyne

per centimeter is also used.

𝑑𝑦𝑛 𝑒𝑟𝑔 10−7 𝑚. 𝑁 𝑁 𝐽

𝛾 =1 =1 2=1 = 0.001 = 0.001
𝑐𝑚 𝑐𝑚 10−4 𝑚2 𝑚 𝑚2

(After Demtroder, 2016)

In terms of force, Surface tension γ of a liquid is the force per unit length.

In the illustration on the right, the rectangular frame, composed of three

unmovable sides (black) that form a "U" shape, and a fourth movable side

(blue) that can slide to the right. Surface tension will pull the blue bar to the

left; the force F required to hold the movable side is proportional to the length
𝐹
L of the immobile side. Thus the ratio depends only on the intrinsic properties
𝐿

14
of the liquid (composition, temperature, etc.), not on its geometry. For
𝐹
example, if the frame had a more complicated shape, the ratio with L the
𝐿

length of the movable side and F the force required to stop it from sliding, is

found to be the same for all shapes. We therefore define the surface tension as

1 𝐹
𝛾= ---------------- (1) (After Jearl Walker, 2014)
2 𝐿

The reason for the 1/2 is that the film has two sides (two surfaces), each of

which contributes equally to the force; so the force contributed by a single

𝐹
side is 𝛾𝐿 = ------------------ (2) (After Jearl Walker, 2014)
2

In terms of energy, Surface tension γ 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). This can be easily related to the previous

definition in terms of force: if F is the force required to stop the side from

starting to slide, then this is also the force that would keep the side in the state

of sliding at a constant speed (by Newton's Second Law). But if the side is

moving to the right (in the direction the force is applied), then the surface area

of the stretched liquid is increasing while the applied force is doing work on

the liquid. This means that increasing the surface area increases the energy of

the film. The work done by the force F in moving the side by distance Δx is W

15
= FΔx; at the same time the total area of the film increases by ΔA = 2LΔx (the

factor of 2 is here because the liquid has two sides, two surfaces).
1 𝐹
Thus, multiplying both the numerator and the denominator of 𝛾 = by Δx,
2 𝐿

𝐹 𝐹∆𝑥 𝑊
we obtain γ= = = ∆𝐴 ----------------- (3) (After Jearl
2𝐿 2𝐿∆𝑥

Walker, 2014)

This work W is, by the usual arguments, interpreted as being stored as potential

energy. Consequently, surface tension can be also measured in SI system as

joules per square meter and in the c.g.s. system as ergs per cm2. Since

mechanical systems try to find a state of minimum potential energy, a free

droplet of liquid naturally assumes a spherical shape, which has the minimum

surface area for a given volume. The equivalence of measurement of energy

per unit area to force per unit length can be proven by dimensional analysis.

2.5 Examples of Surface Tension

 Walking on water: Small insects such as the water strider can walk on

water because their weight is not enough to penetrate the surface.

 Floating a needle: A carefully placed small needle can be made to float

on the surface of water even though it is several times as dense as water.

16
 If the surface is agitated to break up the surface tension, then needle will

quickly sink.

 Wet tent: Common tent materials are somewhat rainproof in that the

surface tension of water will bridge the pores in the finely woven

material. But if you touch the tent material with your finger, you break

the surface tension and the rain will drip through.

 Clinical test for jaundice: Normal urine has a surface tension of about

66 dynes/centimeter but if bile is present (a test for jaundice), it drops to

about 55. In the Hay test, powdered sulfur is sprinkled on the urine

surface. It will float on normal urine, but will sink if the surface tension

is lowered by the bile.

 Disinfectants: Disinfectants are usually solutions of low surface tension.

This allow them to spread out on the cell walls of bacteria and disrupt

them.

 Soaps and detergents: These help the cleaning of clothes by lowering

the surface tension of the water so that it more readily soaks into pores

and soiled areas.

 Washing with cold water: The major reason for using hot water for

washing is that its surface tension is lower and it is a better wetting agent.

17
 But if the detergent lowers the surface tension, the heating may be

unnecessary.

 Bubbles: The surface tension of water provides the necessary wall

tension for the formation of bubbles with water. The tendency to

minimize that wall tension pulls the bubbles into spherical shapes.

 Droplets: Surface tension is responsible for the shape of liquid droplets.

Although easily deformed, droplets of water tend to be pulled into a

spherical shape by the cohesive forces of the surface layer (USGS,

2012).

2.6 Effects of Surface Tension

Several effects of surface tension can be seen with ordinary water:

 Beading of rain water on a waxy surface, such as a leaf. Water adheres

weakly to wax and strongly to itself, so water clusters into drops. Surface

tension gives them their near-spherical shape, because a sphere has the

smallest possible surface area to volume ratio.

 Formation of drops occurs when a mass of liquid is stretched. Water

adhering to a faucet gains mass until it is stretched to a point where the

18
 surface tension can no longer keep the drop linked to the faucet. It then

separates and surface tension forms the drop into a sphere. If a stream

of water were running from the faucet, the stream would break up into

drops during its fall. Gravity stretches the stream, then surface tension

pinches it into spheres.

 Flotation of objects denser than water occurs when the object is non-

wettable and its weight is small enough to be borne by the forces arising

from surface tension. The non-wettability of the water strider's leg

means there is no attraction between molecules of the leg and molecules

of the water, so when the leg pushes down on the water, the surface

tension of the water only tries to recover its flatness from its deformation

due to the leg. This behavior of the water pushes the water strider

upward so it can stand on the surface of the water as long as its mass is

small enough that the water can support it. The surface of the water

behaves like an elastic film: the insect's feet cause indentations in the

water's surface, increasing its surface area and tendency of minimization

of surface curvature (so area) of the water pushes the insect's feet upward

(Demtroder, 2016).

19
 Separation of oil and water is caused by a tension in the surface between

dissimilar liquids. This type of surface tension is called "interface

tension", but its chemistry is the same.

 Tears of wine is the formation of drops and rivulets on the side of a glass

containing an alcoholic beverage. Its cause is a complex interaction

between the differing surface tensions of water and ethanol; it is induced

by a combination of surface tension modification of water by ethanol

together with ethanol evaporating faster than water.

 Soap bubbles have very large surface areas with very little mass.

Bubbles in pure water are unstable. The addition of surfactants,

however, can have a stabilizing effect on the bubbles.

 Emulsions are a type of colloid in which surface tension plays a role.

Tiny fragments of oil suspended in pure water will spontaneously

assemble themselves into much larger masses. But the presence of a

surfactant provides a decrease in surface tension, which permits stability

of minute droplets of oil in the bulk of water (or vice versa) (After

Walker, 2014).

20
 CHAPTER THREE

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 MATERIALS

 Stalagmometer: This was used to take the liquid to initiate drops into

the beaker. A pipette or a dropper can also be a substitute if carefully

and adequately applied.

For this research, an eye dropper was used to obtain drops of the selected

liquids.

 Beakers: These were used to hold liquids for drop measurement.

 Laboratory Scale: This was used to measure the different weights of

the selected liquids.

 Distilled Water: Liquid whose known surface tension was used for

comparison with other liquids.

 Liquids with Unknown Surface Tension: The surface tension of these

liquids were determined using the method, in comparison with that of

water.

 Plain Sheet: This was used for record purposes.

 Clamp: This was used to hold the stalagmometer in a vertical position.

21
3.2 METHODS

3.2.1 Background
The stalagmometric method (Ancient Greek: στάλαγμα, romanized:

stálagma, lit. 'drop') is one of the most common methods for measuring surface

tension. The principle is to measure the weight of drops of a fluid of interest

falling from a capillary glass tube, and thereby calculate the surface tension of

the fluid.

Stalagmometer (Fig. 3) is a device made up of a glass bulb with marked above

and below the bulb indicators designating specific volume of liquid, ended

capillary. During the formation of the drop in volume continuously increases.

Thereby growing its weight Q.

The stalagmometer consist of a glass capillary tube with a bulb at the

middle. There is a capillary bore at the tip of the stalagmometer. The surface

tension of the liquid can be calculated using 𝑚𝑔 = 2𝜋𝑟𝛾 in Nm-1.

Where, m = mass of drops; r = radius of tube; γ = surface tension

The bottom part of stalagmometer is modified such that the liquid flowing

through its smaller diameter forms drops. The drop of a mass m gets released

when its weight G= mg is equal or greater than the surface force at the end of

tube.

22
On the other hand, the ratio of the mass and surface tension is constant for all
𝑚1 𝑚2
the liquids: = ----------------------- (4)
𝛾1 𝛾2

Where m1 and m2 are the masses of drop 1 and 2 respectively, and γ1 and γ2 are

the surface tensions corresponding to these liquids. If the liquid with known

surface tension is used for one of them.

The surface tension of the liquid can be obtained using:

𝑚
𝛾 = 𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑚 (Nm-1) ------------------- (5)
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

The stalagmometer was the cleaned, dried and mounted on the clamp. The

masses of the empty beakers was weighed and recorded as m0. The beaker was

filled with distilled water and water was collected using the stalagmometer till

the water had filled and passed the wide part of the stalagmometer.

One drop was of distilled water was allowed into another beaker and placed on

the weighing scale to obtain the mass of a drop of distilled water.

(m1 = m1+0 – m0) ----------------------- (6)

20 drops of water was collected by the receiving beaker and the mass was

weighed to obtain 20 drops of water using this equation.

(m0 + m20 = mtotal) ----------------------(7)

23
The beakers and the stalagmometer were emptied and dried to prepare them

for the next measurement. The steps were repeated for the other liquids to

obtain their surface tension values.

(m0 + mliquid = mtotal) -------------------- (8)

The mass of drops of the different selected liquids were obtained.

The laboratory temperature was measured to obtain the corresponding water

surface tension and to obtain the surface tension values of the selected liquids

using equation (8).

24
Fig. 2: Diagram of a Stalagmometer with a calibrated scale (After Alexander, B., 2012)

25
 CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Results

4.1.1 Water

The surface tension of water was first determined using

𝐹 = 2𝜋𝑟𝛾 ------------------(9)

Where, F = mg so that equation (9) will be obtained as

𝑚𝑔 = 2𝜋𝑟𝛾 -----------------(10)

m = Mass of a drop of water = 0.05g;

r = radius of the tip of the eye dropper = 0.119cm

g = acceleration due to gravity = 980cm/s2 ; 𝜋 = 3.142; γ = surface tension of

water, as this will form the bases on which that of other selected liquids for

research was obtained. The ratio of mass and surface tension is constant for all

liquids. This formula below was used to obtain the surface tension of other
𝑚
liquids. 𝛾 = 𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

The table below shows the different parameters obtained using the above

formulas.

26
LIQUID MASS OF THE DROPS (g) MEAN SURFACE

(g) m TENSION

(Nm-1)

1 2 3 4 5

Water 0.0540 0.0560 0.0520 0.0550 0.0520 0.0538 72.913

Ethanol 0.0230 0.0140 0.0150 0.0270 0.0130 0.0244 27.105

Glycerine 0.0461 0.0453 0.0462 0.0461 0.0466 0.0461 62.421

Table 1. Showing the masses of the drops of the selected and their corresponding calculated

surface tension values.

TEMPERATURE SURFACE TENSION AT THE DIFFERENT

(0C) TEMPERATURES (Nm-1)

Water Ethanol Glycerine

20 72. 86 22.39 64.00

30 71.88 21.55 57.45

40 69.72 19.25 53.86

50 63.82 16.54 49.78

Table 2. Showing the different surface tension values at different temperatures

27
 90

80

70

60
SURFACE TENSION (N/m)

50
Water
40
Ethanol
30 Glycerine

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

TEMPERATURE (degree Celsius)

Fig. 3 Chart showing the behavior of the selected liquids at different temperatures

28
4.2 DISCUSSION

Table 1 shows the different values for surface tension of the selected liquids

used for this research. It is seen that water has the highest value of 72.913N/m

with the least being ethanol with 27.105N/m showing that a liquid with high

volatility has a low surface tension value.

The boiling point of a liquid is also a determining factor as shown in Table 2

as increase in temperature lowers the surface tension of liquids. It can be seen

that surface tension of liquids lowers at increasing temperatures indicating its

effects on the cohesive properties of the liquids as can be viewed from the chart

(fig. 3).

29
 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion

This research has shown that the surface tension of a liquid can be obtained by

simple laboratory method in comparison with the surface tension of water

which is a universal solvent. This research showed that the method used is

effective and can be used in school laboratories to carryout findings on surface

tension. The effect of temperature on the surface tension of liquids thins as

temperature increases.

5.2 Recommendation

The method adopted in this research has proven to be effective and is

recommended as a cheaper way of determining surface tension of a liquid.

Other methods like the drop count method can be looked into in comparison

with the method used here to further prove accurate and precise values

obtained using the drop weight method.

30
 REFERENCES

Adam, N. K. (1941) The Physics and Chemistry of Surfaces, 3rd edition;

Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.

Baldwin, H.L. (1965) A primer on water quality, USGS; Unnumbered series;

GIP, Swenson, H. A;

Berry, M.V. (1971) “The molecular mechanism of surface tension”. Physics

Education. Vol. 6; pp. 79 – 84. Retrieved 8 July, 2020.

Bush, J. W. (2004) “MIT Lecture Notes on Surface Tension; Lecture 1.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Demtroder (2016). Mechanics and Thermodynamics. Springer Publishers;

Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Gorban, A. N. and Karlin, I.V. (2016) “Beyond Navier-Stokes

equations:capillarity of ideal gas. Contemporary Physics (Review article).

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Navasues, G. (1979) Liquid Surfaces: theory of surface tension. Journal of IOP

science: Rep. Prog. Phys. Vol. 42; No. 7: pp. 1131.

31
Openstax College; Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-380, Houston,

Texas, USA.

Surface Tension (Water Properties) USGS Water Science School. US

Geological Survey, July 2015. Rerieved June, 5, 2020.

Walker, J. (2014) Fundamentals of Physics: Halliday and Resnick. Wiley

Publishers. Tenth Edition.

Zhang, J. (2009) An Easily Understandable Introduction of Surface Tension to

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