Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION III
Tarlac City Schools Division
SAN MANUEL HIGH SCHOOL

Performance Task No. 4

Experiment: Intermolecular Forces of Attraction (IMFAs)

Experimental Objectives: To demonstrate how intermolecular forces affect physical properties such as surface
tension and evaporation.

PRELAB ASSIGNMENT: Define these terms before you begin

 Evaporation -
 Hydrogen bonds -
 Surface tension -
 Surfactant -
 Hydrophilic -
 Hydrophobic -

Part 1---Evaporative Cooling

Evaporation occurs when a substance goes from the liquid phase to the gas phase. In order to evaporate, a liquid
molecule must have enough energy (kinetic energy) to overcome the intermolecular attractions. When the liquid
molecule does evaporate, the liquid molecules left behind have lower kinetic energy, which means a lower
temperature in the liquid. Evaporation also cools the surrounding air because the liquid molecules that have
evaporated have small kinetic energy compared to the air molecules, lowering the average kinetic energy of
molecules in that area.

Why does your skin feel cool as water evaporates? Your skin feels cool because heat is being transferred from
your body to the water molecules. This allows the water molecules to have enough kinetic energy to continue
evaporation. The more water that evaporates from your skin, the cooler your skin feels.

Supplies needed:

Two small glasses

Water
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
Procedure:

Pour a small amount of water into one glass and a small amount of alcohol into another. Dip one finger into the
water and one finger into the alcohol. Remove your fingers from the liquids at the same time and let them dry in
the air.

1) Describe what happens:

School: San Manuel High School

School ID: 300988
Address: San Manuel Tarlac City
Email Address: sanmanuelhs@gmail.com
Contact Number: 045-4910925
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION III
Tarlac City Schools Division
SAN MANUEL HIGH SCHOOL

2) One finger should feel cooler than the other. Which one is it?

3) Is the cooler finger experiencing more or less evaporation than the warmer finger?

4) If a liquid is evaporating more quickly, what does that say about the strength of the intermolecular attractions
between the liquid molecules? (Strong or weak?)

5) Which liquid has stronger intermolecular forces, water or isopropyl alcohol?

Part 2 – Runaway Pepper

Surface tension is the elastic tendency found at the surface of a liquid. You see the effects of surface tension all
the time in ponds and lakes when bugs “walk” on the water surface. Where does surface tension come from?
Hydrogen bonds. In a container of water, the water molecules in the middle of the container are being attracted
through hydrogen bonds to water molecules all around them. Water molecules at the surface, however, do not
have any molecules above them, and are pulled sideways and downward. This sideways pulling results in the
phenomenon of surface tension. This surface tension can be broken by a surfactant or detergent such as soap.

Supplies needed:

Clean shallow dish, pan, skillet, or plate (ANY ONE of the following)
Tap Water
Ground Pepper
Bar of soap
Procedure:

8) Fill a clean shallow dish or pan of water. Sprinkle the ground pepper on it.
Explain why the ground pepper floats on the water.

9) Touch the bar of soap to the center of the pan. Describe what you observe and come up with a reasonable
explanation for it. (Hint: Water is attracted to water – that’s why its surface tension is so great. What does soap
appear to do?)

School: San Manuel High School

School ID: 300988
Address: San Manuel Tarlac City
Email Address: sanmanuelhs@gmail.com
Contact Number: 045-4910925
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION III
Tarlac City Schools Division
SAN MANUEL HIGH SCHOOL

Part 3 – Milk Rainbow

Food coloring is an aqueous solution while milk contains non-polar fat molecules.

It will help to review the structure of soap molecules.

“Polar head” “Nonpolar tail”

(Hydrophilic) (Hydrophobic)

PREVIEW EXPERIMENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1TNrdyqhcY

Supplies needed:

2% milk (or you can use milk with a higher fat content)
Small plate or saucer
Food coloring (2 – 3 colors)
Liquid dish soap
Cotton buds
Procedure:

Pour enough milk in to a saucer to cover the bottom. Add 4 to 8 drops of different colors of food coloring to the
milk, placing the drops on separate areas of the milk.

10) Describe what it looks like:

11) Using a Q – tip or cotton bud, add a drop of soap to the saucer and wait for several seconds.

Describe what happened:

12) Milk is a mixture that contains water and fat. Is soap attracted to water, fat, or both? Explain.

School: San Manuel High School

School ID: 300988
Address: San Manuel Tarlac City
Email Address: sanmanuelhs@gmail.com
Contact Number: 045-4910925
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION III
Tarlac City Schools Division
SAN MANUEL HIGH SCHOOL

13) Why does the food coloring stay in separate areas of the milk before the soap is added? (Hint: Think about
the old adage “Oil and water don’t mix” and then think about the chemistry behind that saying.)

14) Why does adding soap allow the watery food coloring solution to move around the saucer?

Grade/ Strand / Section -

Group Number:
Name of Leader:
Name of Members:

School: San Manuel High School

School ID: 300988
Address: San Manuel Tarlac City
Email Address: sanmanuelhs@gmail.com
Contact Number: 045-4910925