Why so Tense?

By Jennifer Khachikian
 Question:
How many drops of water can fit on a
penny?
Background: Water is one the most unique molecules on Earth and is naturally

found in all 3 states of matter. Water also has some unique properties like

cohesion, adhesion, capillary action and surface tension. This experiment focuses

on... SURFACE TENSION: the tension of the surface film of a liquid caused by the

attraction of the particles in the surface layer by the bulk of the liquid, which

tends to minimize surface area.

 Hypothesis:

My hypothesis is that based on the size of the pipette I will be able to fit 36

drops of water on top of the penny without it spilling over do to the high

surface tension of water.

 Materials
● Penny

● Pipette

● Water

● Cup

● Camera

● Data Table

● Writing Utensil
 Procedures:
1. Gather materials:
2. Draw Data Table 10 trials
3. Set up a clean penny and place on counter
4. Fill cup with water and place pipette inside
5. Do a few practice drops with water to ensure consistency
6. Place water drop on penny from pepette. Keep repeating till the water spills
off the penny (keep count and record data)
7. Repeat step 6 (9 more times) for a total of 10 trials
8. Add data from multiple trials and find the average amount of drops.
9. Form conclusion and relate back to initial hypothesis.
DATA:
Trials Drops of Water

1. 39

2. 31

3. 38

4. 35

5. 42

6. 32

7. 45

8. 39

9. 44

10. 39

Total divided my the 384=38.4 (38 drops)

amount of multiple trials
 Conclusion:
After conducting the experiment and performing multiple trials I
conclude that my hypothesis was incorrect. However, I was not too far
off though. I predicted that the number of water drops a penny
could hold would be 36 and it ended up being 38.

Questions I have that I would like to further research about surface

tension is how it helps insects and plants to survive.