VISCOSITY intermolecular forces to resist the flow

of nearby molecules.
• It is the resistance of the liquid/fluid to
flow. Experiment for viscosity

Difference of Liquid and Fluid Materials:

• Liquid – is a state of matter • 10 pcs. 100-mL Beaker

• Stirring rod
• Fluid – is any substance that flows; the • Honey
molecules themselves are in constant, • Oil
random motion, colliding with each • Water
other and with the walls of any • Alcohol
container. • Acetone
Examples of Viscous Substances Objective:

Liquid:  Observe the viscosity of the liquid

substances used in the experiment to
• Acetone be conducted to day.
• Alcohol
• Blood Questions:
• Blood plasma
• Gasoline 1. Which of the substances used has the
• Glycerine slowest flow?
• Mercury 2. Which of the substances used has the
• Oil
fastest flow?
• Water
Gas: 3. What can you infer from the
experiment conducted?
• NH3
• CO2
• CO
• H2 HONEY IMFA: Hydrogen bonding
• N2
Oil IMFA: London Dispersion Force
• O2
• SO2 Water IMFA: Dipole-dipole Hydrogen
• Helium bonding
• Methane
• Air Alcohol (ethanol) IMFA: Hydrogen bonds

Acetone IMFA: Dipole-dipole attraction

1. It is the resistance of the fluid to flow.
2. Stronger intermolecular forces create
higher viscosity.
3. Liquid viscosities are much higher
because the much higher because the
much shorter distances between their
particles result in many more points for
2 Factors that influence viscosity: KETCHUP

• Effect of temperature • Is a NOT A LIQUID by definition

• Viscosity decreases with • consists of solids in suspension in a

heating liquid

• Faster moving molecules • it’s a “non-Newtonian fluid”

overcome intermolecular forces
Newtonian vs Non-Newtonian
more easily, so the resistance to
flow decreases. • Newtonian fluid – the viscosity of a
fluid would remain constant regardless
• Effect of molecular shape
of changes to the shear rate.
• Small, spherical molecules
• Non-Newtonian fluid – viscosities that
make little contact and pour
fluctuate depending on the shear rate.
easily, like buckshot from a
bowl. 5 Types of Newtonian fluids:

• Long molecules make more 1. Thixotropic

contact and become entangled 2. Rheopectic
and pour slowly. 3. Pseudoplastic
4. Dilatant
• Thus, given the same types of
5. plastic
intermolecular forces, liquids
consisting of longer molecules TYPES of VISCOSITY
have higher viscosities.
• Dynamic (absolute) viscosity – most
often relates to non-Newtonian fluids;
Making of Syrup refers to the fluid’s internal resistance
to flow when force if applied.
Even at room temperature, a concentrated
aqueous sugar solution has a higher viscosity • Kinematic viscosity – is a measure of
than water because of H bonding among the the viscosity of a (usually Newtonian)
many hydroxyl (-OH) groups on the ring-shaped fluid in motion; can be defined as a
sugar molecules. When the solution is slowly ratio of dynamic viscosity to density.
heated to boiling, the sugar molecules react
• Apparent (shear) viscosity – refers to
with each other and link covalently, gradually
the relationship between viscosity and
forming long chains.
shear rate.
Hydrogen bonds and dispersion forces
• Relative viscosity – refers to the
occur at many points along the chains, and
relationship between molar mass and
the resulting syrup is a viscous liquid that
viscosity.
pours slowly and clings to a spoon. When a
viscous syrup is cooled, it may become stiff Dynamic Viscosity
enough to be picked up and stretched – into
taffy candy. • Symbol: P (Poise)

• Jean Loius Marie Poiseuille (1799-1869)

 • CGS unit: dyne-second per square
centimeter
• SI Unit: Newton-second per square
meter. (Poiseuille, PI)
• Cosmetics: should be considered when
designing the feel and flow of cosmetic
products.

• 1P = 0.1 Pa(s); 1PI = 10 P or 1000 cP;

1cP = 1mPa(s)

VISCOSITY is the measure of a substance's

resistance to motion under an applied force. 

• The formula for measuring viscosity is

fairly simple:

viscosity = shear stress / shear rate

• The result is typically expressed

in centipoise (cP), which is the
equivalent of 1 mPa s (millipascal
second). 

• Shear stress is the force per unit area

required to move one layer of fluid in
relation to another.

• Shear rate is the measure of the change

in speed at which intermediate layers
move with respect to one another.

APPLICATIONS IN REAL LIFE

• Food: to maximize production efficiency

and cost effectiveness.

• Adhesives: To choose the right viscosity

for an adhesive, consider how the
adhesive must flow, or not flow, on a
part after the adhesive is applied. 

• Petroleum: project the effectiveness of

lubricating oil and determines design
elements of pipelines.

• Concrete: determines the self-leveling

and pumping behavior of a mix.
It is the resistance of the fluid to flow.
It is related to the movement of the molecules
in the liquid, and thus to the molecular forces
present.
It results from the intermolecular attractions
that impede the movement of molecules
around and past each other.
Both gases and liquids flow, but liquid
viscosities are much….. Nearby molecules.
Viscosity, the resistance to flow, depends on
molecular shape and decreases with
temperature. Stronger intermolecular forces
create higher viscosity.
Some liquids such as water or alcohol flow
easily. They are fluid. Others such as molasses
or motor oil take a longer time to flow (they are
viscous).
Nonpolar molecules like benzene (C6H6),
pentane (C5H12), and carbon tetrachloride
(CCl4) experience only weak intermolecular
forces (dispersion forces) and low viscosities.
More polar molecules like glycerol
(C3H5C(OH)3) and aqueous sugar solution
(syrup) have higher viscosities because of H-
bonding among many –OH groups and
dispersion forces at many points along the
chain.
Viscosity can be measured using a
VISCOMETER. It measures the time it takes for a
known volume of liquid to flow through the
small neck.
Benzene – is a widely used industrial chemical;
found in crude oil, major part of gasoline; used
to make plastics, resins, synthetic fiber, rubber
lubricants, dyes, detergent, drugs and
pesticides; produced naturally by volcanoes and
forest fires.
Pentane – gives power to cars; helps make
polystyrene foam (those foam peanuts found in
your favorite package) [styro-foam]
Carbon Tetrachloride – was widely used as a
cleaning fluid (in industry and dry cleaning
establishments as degreasing agent, and in
households as a spot remover for clothing,
furniture, and carpeting); was also used in fire
extinguishers and as a fumigant to kill insects in
grain.
Glycerol – serves as a humectant, solvent, and
sweetener, and may help preserve foods; is also
used as filler in commercially prepared low-fat
foods (e.g., cookies), and as a thickening agent
in liqueurs; Glycerol and water are used to
preserve certain types of plant leaves.
Chemical Formula: Glucose Fructose == Viscous
yellow liquid. == Honey is primarily fructose and
glucose in that order, with a little sucrose
(about 1%), and less than 10% other sugars, and
about 17% water. The low water content is
important to many of honey's properties. It
makes it thick, it prevents spoilage, but is
enough to keep it liquid. Because there is so
little water in honey, microorganisms that
encounter honey die as the water in them is
removed by osmosis. In addition, as honey is
diluted with water, a chemical reaction
between glucose, water, and oxygen produces
small amounts of hydrogen peroxide and
gluconic acid. The slow release of hydrogen
peroxide makes honey a mild antiseptic. The
acidity of honey also reduces the number of
organisms that can live in it. Honey is mostly
used as a sweetener, but it has been used to
treat wounds and as a preservative.
The bonds in honey are hydrogen bonding,
which are one of the strongest bonds, and this
causes strong cohesion forces between them
and it causes the flow of the honey to be
slow/viscous.
Cohesion is the attraction in a molecule of liquid
to each other due to intermolecular forces.
The H2O water molecule is polar with
intermolecular dipole-dipole hydrogen bonds.
As the water molecules attract each other and
form bonds, water displays properties such as
high surface tension and a high heat of
evaporation.
The especially strong intermolecular forces in
ethanol are a result of a special class of dipole-
dipole forces called hydrogen bonds.
Acetone: (CH3)2CO.
The Intermolecular Forces acting on two atoms
of Acetone would be London Dispersion Forces
and Dipole-Dipole Forces. This is because the
atom has only side that is more positively
charged than the other causing the Dipole-
Dipole attraction.
The viscosity of a liquid decreases with
increasing temperature because at higher
temperatures, the average kinetic energy of the
molecules that overcomes the attractive forces
between molecules is greater.
KETCHUP
Using the scientific definition, no. ketchup is not
a liquid.
It consists of solids in suspension in a liquid, and
that makes it a “non-Newtonian fluid”
A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture in
which the solute particles do not dissolve, but
get suspended throughout the bulk of the
solvent, left floating around freely in the
medium.
Newtonian vs. Non-Newtonian
Isaac Newton, the man to discover this formula,
thought that, at a given temperature and shear
stress, the viscosity of a fluid would remain
constant regardless of changes to the shear
rate. 
He was only partly right. A few fluids, such as
water and honey, do behave this way. We call
these fluids Newtonian fluids. Most fluids,
however, have viscosities that fluctuate
depending on the shear rate. These are
called Non-Newtonian fluids.
There are five types of non-Newtonian fluids:
thixotropic, rheopectic, pseudoplastic, dilatant,
and plastic. Different considerations are
required when measuring each of these fluid
types.
TYPES OF VISCOSITY
Apparent (shear) viscosity – In Newtonian
fluids, this value doesn’t change, but with non-
Newtonian fluids, apparent viscosity is directly
affected by shear rate. It can be calculated by
dividing shear stress by shear rate.
Relative viscosity – is important for non-
Newtonian fluids, specifically polymers. It refers
to the relationship between molar mass (the
mass of a chemical compound divided by total
amount) and viscosity – higher molar mass
means higher viscosity in the polymer. It’s
calculated by dividing the polymer viscosity of
the pure solvent.
DYNAMIC VISCOSITY
Poise (symbol: P) Named after the French
physician Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799–
1869), this is the cgs unit of viscosity, equivalent
to dyne-second per square centimetre. It is the
viscosity of a fluid in which a tangential force of
1 dyne per square centimetre maintains a
difference in velocity of 1 centimetre per
second between two parallel planes 1
centimetre apart. Even in relation to high-
viscosity fluids, this unit is most usually
encountered as the centipoise (cP), which is
0.01 poise. Many everyday fluids have
viscosities between 0.5 and 1000 cP (see table).
Pascal-second (symbol: Pa·s) This is the SI unit
of viscosity, equivalent to newton-second per
square metre (N·s m–2). It is sometimes
referred to as the “poiseuille” (Pl). One poise is
exactly 0.1 Pa·s. One poiseuille is 10 poise or
1000 cP, while 1 cP = 1 mPa·s (one millipascal-
second).
100 degrees C) and a precise time reading (in
seconds) for the time it takes a fixed amount of
fluid to flow within the tube from one marked
point to another by suction or through the force
of gravity.
This measured time is then multiplied by a
constant (associated to the particular tube) to
calculate the absolute viscosity (suction) or the
kinematic viscosity (force of gravity).

Gaussian units constitute a metric system of The higher the poise the greater the viscosity
physical units. This system is the most common
of the several electromagnetic unit systems
based on cgs (centimetre–gram–second) units.
It is also called the Gaussian unit system,
Gaussian-cgs units, or often just cgs units.

Gathering viscosity data on a material gives

manufacturers the ability to predict how the
material will behave in the real world. For
example, if toothpaste does not have the
correct viscosity, it can either be too difficult to
pump out from the tube, or pump out too
much.

Knowing the viscosity of a material also affects

how the production and transportation
processes are designed. 

CSC Scientific sells Rotational Viscometers that

can adapt to the testing method required for
measuring the viscosity of Newtonian and Non-
Newtonian fluids.

We also sell the new EMS-1000 Viscometer, a

high-tech electromagnetic spinning viscometer
for tricky applications like adhesives, blood, and
expensive perfumes. 

Capillary (Glass) Viscometer Test

The main apparatus used in a capillary

viscometer test is a glass tube in the general
shape of a “U,” which gives it its commonly
associated name, the U-tube. The procedure for
a U-tube requires the tube to be submerged in
a temperature-controlled bath (usually 40 or