SURFACE

TENSION
MADE BY – MOHD ARHAN
CLASS – 8
SECTION – B
PERSONAL NUMBER - 18317
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank my principal, Head of department and
my physics teacher to give me this topic. It is my honour to
make a project on such informative topic. I would also like to
thank my subject teachers for teaching us in these tough times.
 CAUSE OF SURFACE TENSION
• A molecule is tugged in all directions equally by
neighboring liquid molecules due to cohesive forces,
resulting in a net force of zero. Because the molecules
near the surface are not surrounded by identical
molecules on all sides, they are pushed inward. This
causes internal pressure which further causes the liquid
surfaces to compress to the smallest possible area.
• Due to the cohesive structure of water molecules, there
is also a tension parallel to the surface that will resist an
external force.
• The forces of attraction that operate between molecules
of the same kind are known as cohesive forces, while the
forces that act between molecules of different types are
known as adhesive forces.
 APPLICATION OF SURFACE TENSION
• Surface tension has a huge role in daily life, health and many industrial
processes. There are so many techniques that have been developed to
modify surface tension.
• 1. Daily life Example:
• a) Small insects such as the water strider can walk on the surface of the
water because their weight is very less so they can’t penetrate the water.
• b) Disinfectants are mainly the solution of low surface tension so that when
we use them in the field they can float on the water and spread out on the
cells to destroy them.
• c) Soaps and detergents also work on the basis of surface tension. They
lower the surface tension of the water so that the soaps and detergents
easily soak into the pores and holes.
• d) The water bubbles are round because the surface tension of water
provides the tension to form the bubble with the water and the surface
tension minimizes the bubble into spherical shapes.
 FORMATION OF DROPLETS
Cohesive forces are responsible for surface
tension, a phenomenon that results in the tendency
of a liquid’s surface to resist rupture when placed
under tension or stress. Water molecules at the
surface (at the water-air interface) will form
hydrogen bonds with their neighbors, just like
water molecules deeper within the liquid.
However, because they are exposed to air on one
side, they will have fewer neighboring water
molecules to bond with, and will form stronger
bonds with the neighbors they do have. Surface
tension causes water to form spherical droplets
and allows it to support small objects, like a scrap
of paper or a needle, if they are placed carefully on
its surface.
 EFFECT OF DETERGENT ON SURFACE TENSION
• The water drops do not stick to the glass panes because of surface tension due to their cohesive forces not
letting them stick to the glass panes. And the same thing happens when you try to wash clothes with water.
The water doesn’t wet the clothes (or in other words, stick to them) enough for it to actually clean the dirt
off your clothes. This is where detergent or soap comes in.
• Adding detergent to water reduces its surface tension. Detergents and soaps have something called
surface-active agent, or surfactants for short. These surfactants reduce the surface tension value of water
and enhance its ability to stick to things. Water sticks to the clothes and because of this is able to seep
through thin fibers of dirty clothes and spread over a larger area (therefore increasing its area of influence)
than it usually could have.
• Surfactants in detergents play a very important role here. On one end, they attach themselves to the water
molecules and on the other end, they attach themselves to the dirt present in unclean clothes. The
surfactants help spread water, then they act on the grease by attaching themselves to it, and when this
water is disposed of, it carries away all the dirt with it.
• This is why water alone will not help with cleaning action. The surfactants are very useful in this way that
they are made of two ends, one which is attracted to water, hydrophilic, and attaches itself there, while the
other is attracted to grease, oily substances, hydrophobic, and dirt and attaches itself there.
THANK YOU