GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2 SCORE: ______________

DATE: ______________
Lab Sheet 1
GROUP Number: ____
NAMES OF PARTICIPANTS/GRADE/SECTION STEM G12 DAVIDIC’S SCHOLARS
__________________________________________ _________________________________________________
__________________________________________ _________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of liquids is their fluidity and ability to flow. Liquids have a
fixed volume but no fixed form. Liquids are stated to have poor compressibility, which means that packing
liquid particles closer together is difficult. Liquids flow because of this, as well as the fact that liquid
particles have a higher energy density than solid particles. These two aspects give liquids the
appearance of being disordered at the molecular level.
Properties of Liquid
A liquid is a state of matter that can flow and can take the shape of its container. Liquids can be described
by their properties of color, texture, viscosity and surface tension
 Color – Liquids can be any color or colorless.
 Texture – Liquids can feel sticky, gooey, slippery, or watery to the touch.
 Viscosity—the resistance of a fluid to flow
 Surface tension is a property of a liquid that allows them to resist external forces. It combines the
concepts of cohesion and adhesion. Surface tension is caused by a strong attraction between the
molecules (cohesion) that cause them to link together and remain uniform, even when placed on
differing surfaces (adhesion). When the molecules possess weak positive interactions, as is the case
with rubbing alcohol, surface tension will be small compared to other liquids
Cohesion is the attraction of molecules among its own kind; i.e. between two water molecules.
Because of cohesion, water and other liquids form thin films and drops. This is why water bugs
can walk on water, and why a carefully placed paper clip will float

Adhesion is the attraction between different substances; i.e. between a water molecule and a
copper molecule. Adhesion powers a certain process that allows water molecules to move upward
through a narrow tube. The attraction of water to the walls of a tube sucks the water up more
strongly than gravity pulls it down (i.e. water moving up a plant’s roots).

 Hydrophobic or “water-fearing” molecules are molecules that do not like to be near water. Water
molecules have a dipole, meaning that one side of the molecule has a slightly positive charge and
one part has a slightly negative charge

Learning Objectives
 Explain, with evidence, that different liquids have their own unique properties.
 Plan and investigate to identify the properties of a liquid.
 Use appropriate vocabulary to describe the properties of liquids

Activity
1. Complete the table below.

Substance State of Matter Description of Molecular Arrangement of

Motion atoms/molecules
Dishwashing liquid
paper
gas

2. Make a prediction. The coin will hold the greatest number of drops when you use ____
(clean water, soapy water or rubbing alcohol)

3. Approximately, how many drops of clean water do you think the coin will hold?
Clear water Soapy water Rubbing alcohol
Number of drops ________________ __________________ ___________________
Procedure:
1. Fill a dropper with water.
2. Place the coin, heads up, on top of a paper towel.
3. Hold your dropper about 1-inch above the coin and add drops of water to the surface of the coin until it
overflows.
4. Record the number of drops of water the surface of the coin can hold in the table. Write the data under
the column labeled “Run 1.”
5. Repeat steps 2-4 two more times and record your results for “Run 2” and “Run 3.”
6. Repeat the experiment (steps 2-6) for rubbing alcohol and then soapy water. Be sure to rinse and dry
the coin thoroughly between experiments! You should also clean the droppers if you are reusing them.
7. Add the number of droplets of water the coin held for Run 1, Run 2, and Run 3 and write this total in
the column labeled “Sum of Runs.”
8. Divide this number by three, the number of runs performed, and record this number in the column
labeled “Average.” This is the average number of drops the coin held for your three runs.
9. Repeat this process with the results from soapy water and rubbing alcohol.
10. Plot the average number of droplets for each liquid on a bar graph below.

Liquids Number of droplets Sum of Runs Average

Run 1 Run 2 Run3

Clear water
Soapy water
Rubbing alcohol

Complete the table below to plot the average number of droplets for each liquid using bar graph.

6
0
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0
0

Clean water soapy water rubbing alcohol

4. Were your predictions from the beginning of the lab correct? Yes or No. Encircle your answer
5. Which liquid do you think has the strongest molecular interactions? In other words, which liquid can
hold onto itself the tightest? ____
a. water
b. soapy water
c. rubbing alcohol