SALAHADDIN UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
2nd STAGE

Surface Tension

Prepared By : Supervisor :
Mustafa Mohamed Ms. Aveen Matti
Tuqa Mohsin Ms. Rupak Ahmad
Huda Kamal
Nsar ahmad
 Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• EFFECTS OF COHESIVE AND ADHESIVE FORCES
• FACTORS THAT AFFECTS THE SURFACE TENSION
• THE EFFECTS OF SURFACE TENSION
• DETERMINATION OF SURFACE TENSION
• CAPILARY RISE METHOD
• DROP WEIGHT METHOD
• REFERENCES

1
 Introduction
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SURFACE TENSION?

Surface tension is the property of a liquid in contact with air that makes it
behave as if it was covered with a thin membrane under tension .
It is a property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external
forces.

Units Of Surface Tension

• In CGS system is dyne per centimetre (dyne cm-1)
• In SI system the unit is newton per meter (Nm-1)

2
 Effects Of Cohesive And Adhesive Forces
Cohesive forces
Is The Force Of Attraction
Between The Molecules Of
The Same Substances.

Adhesive Forces
Is The Force Of Attraction
Between The Molecules Of
Two Different Substances.

3
 NOW WE CAN UNDERSTAND

 When cohesive force is stronger than the

adhesive force: the shape is concave up
meniscus.

 When adhesive force is stronger than the

cohesive force: the shape is concave down
(convex) meniscus.

4
 1.Intermolecular Forces
Stronger the intermolecular forces among the
molecules of a liquids, greater is the surface tension
and vice versa.
e.g, the surface tension of water is higher than many
Factors That Affects liquids due to strong hydrogen bonding between water
The Surface Tension molecules.

2.Nature
It is different for different liquids due to the presence of
different types of intermolecular forces.

5
 3.Temperature
Surface tension of a liquids decreases with the increase
of temperature.
This is because increased kinetic energy of the
molecules decrease the strength of intermolecular
Factors That Affects forces.

The Surface Tension 4.Solute Concentration

Solutes can have different effects on surface tension
depending on the nature of the surface and the solute.
5.Impurity
If the impurity is added in the liquid and it is:
• completely soluble then surface tension of liquid
increases.
• not completely soluble then surface tension of liquid
decreases.
6
The effects of surface tension
(applications)
1.Spherical Shape of Water Droplets
• Surface Tension Is Responsible For The Shape Of
Liquid Droplets.
• Although Easily Deformed, Droplets Of Water
Tend To Be Pulled Into A Spherical Shape By The
Cohesive Forces Of The Surface Layer.
• The Spherical Shape Minimizes The Necessary
"Wall Tension" Of The Surface Layer According To
Laplace's Law.
• In The Absence Of Other Forces, Including Gravity,
Drops Of Virtually All Liquids Would Be
Approximately Spherical.
• A Sphere Has The Smallest Possible Surface Area
To Volume Ratio
7
2.Walking on water
Small insects such as the water strider can walk on
water because their weight is not enough to penetrate
the surface.

3.Floating a needle(paperclip)
A small needle can be made to float on the surface of
water even though it is several times as dense as water.
If the surface is agitated to break up the surface
tension, then needle will quickly sink.

8
4.Capillary Action
Capillary action is the result of adhesion and surface
tension. Adhesion of water to the walls of a vessel will
cause an upward force on the liquid at the edges and
result in a meniscus which turns upward. The surface
tension acts to hold the surface intact, so instead of just
the edges moving upward, the whole liquid surface is
dragged upward.

5.Soaps and detergents:

Surface tension help the cleaning of clothes by
lowering the surface tension of the water so that it
more readily soaks into pores and soiled areas.

9
 Determination Of Surface Tension
We Have 5 Methods To Measure The Surface Tension

1. Capillary Rise Method (which is the most important and it is considered as the
standard method)

2. Drop Weight Method

3. Du Nouy Ring Method

4.Sessile Drop Method

5.Bubble Pressure Method

10
How to know which method is needed to measure the surface tension?

The choice of the method for measuring the surface tension is depend on:

 Whether surface or interfacial tension is to be determined.

 The accuracy desired.
 The size of sample.

11
The Capillary Rise Method
 Capillary-rise Method

In this method a capillary tube with radius r is inserted

vertically into a liquid, the liquid rises to height h the
surface tension (γ) is acting along the inner
circumference exactly supports the weight of the liquid
column.

 From the definition of the surface tension

Θ :is the angle between the tangent line to the meniscus surface and the tube
γ :is the surface tension of the liquid
r :is the radius of the capillary tube

12
 Capillary-rise Method

then the total force (upward force) = 2πrγ cos Θ

for most liquids equals zero and cos 0 = 1
the total downward force (Mass x Gravity) = πr²hdg

where d: is the density of the liquid

g: is equal to (980 cm/s2)

upward force = downward force

2πrγ = πr²hdg

γ=hrdg/2

13
The Drop Weight Method
The Drop Weight Method

in this method a drop of water is allowed to form at the lower end

of a capillary tube as shown in the opposite figures.

14
 The Drop Weight Method
Experimental Steps

The apparatus is filled with the liquid with the unknown surface tension, then a 20
drops of water is allowed to fall in a weighing bottle and weighed. Thus the of one drop
is found. The apparatus is cleaned and dried and then filled with another liquid,
say(Water) and weight one drop of this liquid with the same method.

Thus from the previous equation :

15
 References
• What Is The surface tension
https://www.britannica.com/science/surface-tension

• COHESIVE AND ADHESIVE FORCES

https://byjus.com/chemistry/adhesion-and-cohesion-difference/

• FACTORS THAT AFFECTS THE SURFACE TENSION

https://www.brainkart.com/article/Factors-affecting-the-surface-tension-of-a-liquid_36199/

• DETERMINATION OF SURFACE TENSION

https://www.biolinscientific.com/measurements/surface-tension
THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION :)