EXPERIMENT: WATER PROPERTIES

Conduct an experiment that demonstrates some of the key properties of water which include adhesion and cohesion, solubility and capillary action.

Water is necessary for all life on Earth to exist. Water has some very unique properties because of its structure that are important to living things. A water molecule consists of one oxygen atom that is covalently bonded to two hydrogen atoms. Oxygen is a more electronegative element which means the electrons in the bonds are pulled closer to oxygen then the hydrogen atoms. Since electrons are negative this causes the oxygen side water molecule to have a slight negative charge and the side with the hydrogen atoms to have a slight positive charge. This makes the water molecule polar. Because a water molecule is polar it will have several different properties, we will use this lab to explore some of those properties.

art 1: Universal solvent

Water is considered to be the universal solvent because it is very polar it will dissolve other polar substances very easily. This experiment is designed to test how well water and oil can dissolve salt.

Part 2: Cohesion and adhesion

Water is a polar molecule which causes water molecules to be attracted to each other. The term for this property is called cohesion. Water can also be attracted to other substances, like after a rain falls you can see droplets of water sticking to plant leaves. The term for this property is called adhesion. The purpose of this section of the lab is to examine both the cohesion and adhesion of water molecules.

Part 3: Capillary action

Capillary action is when water is able to move up small tubular spaces because of cohesive and adhesive forces. The attraction of the water to the tube and to itself allows up to move upward against the force of gravity. This is critical for plants to be able to obtain the water they need for photosynthesis.