OBJECTIVES:

• What is Surface Tension?

• The Molecular Perspective
• The Examples of Surface Tension
• Causes of Surface Tension
• Related in Cohesion and Adhesion
 WHAT IS SURFACE
TENSION?

• Surface tension is a phenomenon in which the surface

of a liquid, where the liquid is in contact with a gas,
acts as a thin elastic sheet. This term is typically used
only when the liquid surface is in contact with gas
(such as the air).
 MOLECULAR
PERSPECTIVE
• In a sample of water, there are two types of
molecules. Those that are on the outside, exterior,
and those that are on the inside interior. The interior
molecules are attracted to all the molecules around
them, while the exterior molecules are attracted to
only the other surface molecules and to those below
the surface. This makes it so that the energy state of
the molecules on the interior is much lower than that
of the molecules on the exterior. Because of this, the
molecules try to maintain a minimum surface area,
thus allowing more molecules to have a lower
energy state. This is what creates what is referred to
as surface tension.
 EXAMPLES OF SURFACE
TENSION
• DROPS OF WATER. When using a water dropper, the water does not flow in a
continuous stream, but rather in a series of drops.
• INSECTS WALKING ON WATER. Several insects are able to walk on water, such
as the water strider. their legs are formed to distribute their weight, causing the
surface of the liquid to become depressed, minimizing the potential energy to
create a balance of forces so that the strider can move across the surface of the
water without breaking through the surface. this is similar in concept to wearing
snowshoes to walk across deep snowdrifts without your feet sinking.
• NEEDLE (OR PAPER CLIP) FLOATING ON WATER. Even though the density of these
objects is greater than water, the surface tension along the depression is enough to
counteract the force of gravity pulling down on the metal object.
 CAUSES OF SURFACE TENSION
• Surface tension (denoted with the greek variable gamma) is defined as the ratio of the
surface force f to the length d along which the force acts:

WHEREIN:
gamma represent surface tension
F represents force and;
d – represent the length along which the force is felt
Unit of surface tension, Newton per meter (N/m) or dyne per centimeter (dyn/cm).
 RELATED IN COHESION AND
ADHESION

• Cohesive forces are those that hold the

body of a liquid together with minimum
surface area and adhesive forces are
those that try to make a body of a liquid
spread out. So if the cohesive forces
are stronger then the adhesive forces,
the body of water will maintain its
shape, but if the opposite is true than
the liquid will be spread out, maximizing
its surface area.
 REFERENCES:
Aldridge & Brar (2017) Surface Tension Retrieved from November 16, 2019 from
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/
Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Physical_Properties_of_Matter
/States_of_Matter/Properties_of_Liquids/Surface_Tension

Thought.Co (2018) Surface Tension - Definition and Experiments Retrieved November 16,2019
from https://www.thoughtco.com/surface-tension-definition-and-experiments-2699204