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Brandon Young

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

31 January 2018

Does the Width of an Opening in a Bottle affect the Amount of Surface Tension Water Will

Have?

Did you know that if you tip a glass upside down with water in it a certain way, the water

will stay inside of the glass? When I tested this, I used glasses with wide openings, but it didn’t

work very well. Then I started using smaller glasses, and the water started to stay in the glass. I

learned that you have to use glass or very hard plastic, because when you use soft plastic, the

bottle compresses when the water comes out of the bottle. I hypothesized that ​if I measure the

surface tension of different sized openings, then the jar with the smallest opening will have the

most surface tension.

What is Surface Tension?

Surface tension is defined as when water particles are attracted to other water particles,

forming a thin, elastic barrier that can be broken when the barrier is penetrated. Surface tension

allows certain things like the water strider to stay on top of the water because of its light weight.

Each water particle has positive and negative particles which are attracted to make the thin

barrier known as surface tension. Surface tension is measured in dynes, or centimeters. When the

water warms up, surface tension decreases. When water cools down, the surface tension

increases.

What Are the Factors That Affect Surface Tension?

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There are many factors that affect surface tension. Oxidation is a major factor when it

comes to surface tension. If there is impurities in or on the water, that will also affect surface

tension. Another major factor of surface tension is the temperature of the liquid. Another thing

that affects surface tension is the impurities in the liquid. The amount of the liquid that is used

would also contribute to the factors that affect surface tension. The amount of hydrogen in a

liquid affect the amount of surface tension a liquid will have.

What is Oxidation and How Does It Affect Surface Tension

Oxidation happens when there is a lot of electrons in a liquid. An older technique to add

oxidation to a liquid would be to add oxygen to it. Oxygen was the first discovered way to

oxidize a liquid. Another old way of oxidizing a liquid was to put hydrogen into it. Both of these

methods still work today on many materials today. When there is lots of oxidation, the surface

tension goes up.

How does Temperature Affect Surface Tension?

When the temperature of a liquids increases, the surface tension decreases. When the

temperature of the liquid decreases, the surface tension increases. This is because when the water

gets warmer, the water molecules move more. When the water molecules move more, the surface

tension decreases. The same goes for when the temperature decreases. When the temperature

decreases, the water molecules start to move slower and slower, causing an increase in surface

tension (Viscosity).

How do you accurately Measure Surface Tension?

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There are many ways to measure surface tension on the internet. To measure surface

tension precisely, You could use the capillary rise method. Another very accurate way to

measure surface tension would be to use the drop weight method. There are also other ways to

measure surface tension by using the ring method. Another easy and accurate way to measure

surface tension would be to the maximum bulk pressure method. Another thing you could use is

to measure the size of a droplet or the bubble formed by the liquid. There are also many dynamic

methods to use to measure surface tension.

What Everyday Things are Affected by Surface Tension?

When water droplets are placed by each other, they will be attracted to each other. When

you use hot water on dishes or your hands, there is less surface tension. Therefore, the water gets

deeper into the crevices in your hands. When insects, like the water strider, glide on the water, it

is because they’re extremely light, and they are usually found on slightly colder waters, around

60 degrees fahrenheit. Just like warm water, disinfectants have low surface tensions so they can

get into cell walls, causing a disruption. Surface tension is also responsible for why bubbles are

round. It is not an everyday thing, but is is still pretty cool, is “When you tip a bottle upside

down with fabric on it, the water will not go through the fabric, because water molecules are

pulled together and there is nothing to pull it in the other direction” (Hann 142-143)

I hypothesized that ​if I measure the surface tension of different sized openings, then the

jar with the smallest opening will have the most surface tension. ​When I used the bottles with the

bigger openings, the water fell out more easily. As the opening got smaller and smaller, the water

wouldn’t fall out as easily. I used the same amount of water in each one, but I think that if the

glass was filled up all the way, the experiment might have worked with the bigger glasses. When
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I tested the first bottle, I slid the plastic out 4 mm. The next was 3, the next was 2, then 1, and the

rest of the bigger ones were 0. When measured, the glass with the smallest opening had the most

surface tension.
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Works Cited

“Factors Affecting Surface Tension.” Factors Affecting Surface Tension | Tutorvista.com, 2017,

www.tutorvista.com/content/physics/physics-iii/solids-and-fluids/surface-tension-factors.

php​.

Hann, Judith. “Surface Tension.” How Science Works: edited by Liza Bruml, Reader's Digest

Association, 1991, pp. 142–143.

Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “Oxidation Definition in Chemistry.” ThoughtCo, 8 Mar. 2017,

www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-oxidation-in-chemistry-605456​.

Jones, Andrew Zimmerman. “What Is Surface Tension? Definition and Experiments.” Surface

Tension - Definition and Experiments, ThoughtCo., 13 Mar. 2017,

www.thoughtco.com/surface-tension-definition-and-experiments-2699204​.

“Methods of Surface Tension Measurements.” Methods of Surface Tension Measurements.

Nave, R. Surface Tension, hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/surten.html.

Perlman, USGS Howard. “Surface Tension and Water.” Surface Tension and Water, USA.gov, 0

Dec. 2016, 12:52, water.usgs.gov/edu/surface-tension.html.

Tension Superficial.” Surface Tension, University of Florida,

fsz.ifas.ufl.edu/surfacetensionandcapillarity/html/en_tension.htm.

“Viscosity.” Viscosity-Surface Tension-Properties of Liquid,

www.citycollegiate.com/viscosity.htm​.