2. I’ve seen bugs walk on the surface of water. So it
lead me to a question I longed to answer: Is there
something- some force or friction, or even
gravitational field- that allows bugs to practically
walk on the surface of liquid without any trouble?
These are the 3 experiments I conducted to
investigate the effects of liquid surface tension.
3. Surface tension is another term for the slightly
elastic skin of interlocking water molecules
(H2O molecules) which exists naturally on
most if not all liquids.
4. Most people think that water spills if it’s height
is taller than the rim of the container. That is
true , but by how far is it going to spill? I
conducted this experiment to prove the
existence of surface tension.
5. I poured tap water up to the rim. Then I used a
smaller cup to add water bit by bit and waited
for drops of water to fall off. Unbelievably, the
water level actually rose slightly.
6. Under water, every pushing force of water
molecules is balanced by a pulling force. On
the surface, this is not true. The layer of
molecules on the surface interlocks to form a
“skin” and hangs to the rim, so when extra
water is added, water tension (the skin) keeps
it from spilling.
7. A paperclip can’t float. It’s too dense-but it’s not
that heavy in weight. I conducted this
experiment to show the effects of surface
tension ( And compare a paperclip with a water
strider).
8. I put a paperclip in water and tried to make it
float. Not much luck, huh! Then I dropped a
tissue in the water. While the tissue became
wet, I dropped a paperclip onto it. Then I used
the rubber end of a pencil and pushed the
tissue down… And the paperclip stayed
floating!
9. A paperclip is very light, so the skin
(interlocking unbalanced molecules) of water
could actually hold it. If you drop the paperclip
with your hand, the very small vibrations that
your hand creates affects the tension. Using a
tissue, there is hardly any vibration so the
molecules are in the correct state to hold the
paperclip.
10. This is another experiment to prove the
existence of surface tension, but in a slightly
more complex way.
11. I cut out the corner of a card and cut a gap the
shape of an isosceles triangle on the card.
Then, placing the “raft “in water, I used a
toothpick to place a drop of detergent in the
gap. The boat actually moved!
12. The surface skin of liquids (surface tension) is
an arrangement of charged water molecules.
When a drop of detergent is added, it disrupts
the molecules and their charging, sending a
vibration in a “chain reaction”, a bit like a
Mexican wave.
13. According to the results collected from my
experiments, I can prove that surface tension
exists.
