Introduction /9

and Objectives
Methodology /9
Results /9
Discussion /9
Conclusions /9
References /9
Continuous /6
learning &
information
management
Total /60
Percentage /85%

SF0011 PRACTICAL PHYSICS II

LAB REPORT

EXPERIMENT: DETERMINATION OF SURFACE

TENSION USING THE RING METHOD
TUTORIAL: 11

NAME MATRIX NO.

AINUL INSYIRAH BINTI ROSLI FSS22110665

AKMAL HAZIM BIN ROZAMI FS22110662
FINNEA ALESIAH CHUA FS22110658

LAEISHA BINTI MOHD ZAIN FS22110667

MUHAMMAD AMIRUL NIZAM BIN SAMSUDIN FS22110644

STANLEY CHUNG JIA YAN FS22110619

DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 21/09/22

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 28/09/22

DEMONSTRATOR: SIR MUHAMMAD IZZUDDIN BIN RUMALIN

 Surface Tension Using the Ring Method

Ainul Insyirah, Akmal Hazim Bin Rozami, Amirul Nizam,

Finnea Alesiah Chua, Laeisha, Stanley Chung Jia Yan, Nicole Chrisa Lorik

Preparatory Centre for Science and Technology,

Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Data Collected: 21 September 2022; Submitted: 28 September 2022

Tutorial: 11; Lab Demo: Muhammad Izzuddin Rumaling

Abstract

Surface tension is defined as a cohesive molecular force acting on the surface of all liquids,
which tends to force the solution to its smallest volume. The surface of the liquid, due to this
force, becomes an elastic like film that exerts its force perpendicular to the surface of the
solution. Surfactants are used to reduce surface tension, and their primary function is as an
antipitting agent, while the reduction of surface tension on the cathode surface also tends to
enhance the effect of other additives on the character of the electrodeposit. The surface
tension of a liquid influences the size of the drop that will be formed when the liquid is
suspended from a glass tip. The capillary method, used to measure the surface tension of
pure liquids very accurately, and stalagmometer is used to measure surface tension directly.
Surface tension tries to decrease the surface area of the liquid to the minimum. The drops of
a liquid (or the bubbles of a gas) are spherical because for given volume, a sphere has
minimum surface area. In this experiment, it is found that the surface tension of liquids
generally decreases with increase of temperature and becomes zero at critical temperature
(when meniscus between the liquid and the vapour disappears). The decrease in surface
tension with increase of temperature is due to the fact that with increase of temperature, the
kinetic energy of the molecules increases and hence intermolecular attraction decreases.

Keywords: Surface tension, volume, force, temperature, kinetic energy

Introduction

Surface tension can be interpreted as an attractive force in a liquid that pulls surface molecules
into the rest of the liquid, thereby minimising the surface area. Surface tension is measured
as the energy required to increase the surface area of a liquid by one unit area. Surface
tension arises due to cohesive interactions between molecules in a liquid (Laurén, 2020).
Leaves and insects can be observed floating on the surface of a body of water. They are not
partially submerged and thus not buoyed up because of Archimedes' principle (Resnick et al.,
2002). In most liquids, molecules have neighbouring molecules on each side. Molecules attract
each other equally in all directions, causing a net force of zero. However, at the interface, the
liquid molecules have only half of the neighbouring liquid molecules compared to the bulk of
the liquid. This makes the molecules bond more strongly with the molecules next to them and
causes a net inward force towards the liquid. This force resists surface breakdown and is
called surface tension. On this basis, surface tension is often expressed as the sum of forces
exerted on a surface perpendicular to a line of unit length. The unit is then newtons per meter,
which is equivalent to joules per square meter. Surface tension can be considered as the
energy content of the fluid on its surface per unit surface area (Serway et al., 2018).

Objective

1. To determine the surface tension of water as a function of temperature.

Theory

According to the concept originated with the studies of intermolecular forces such as Van der
Waals force, draw the liquid together. Surface tension, γ in a film of liquid is defined as the
magnitude of the surface tension, force F divided by the length, L along which the force acts:

(1)

Where force, F acts along the edge of length, L, tangential to the surface in order to maintain
the liquid film. The SI unit of surface tension is the newton per meter. When a ring of radius,
r is used, the length of the edge is
 L = 2 x 2πr (2)

The reason for the 2 is that the film has two sides (two surfaces), each of which contributes
equally to the force, F. The diameter of the measuring ring employed is 2r = 2cm. There is
no need to correct the measured force to compensate for the weight of the liquid lifted
because the ring has a sharp bottom edge.

Method

torsion
dynamometer

Crystallizing
dish

draining tube Large beaker

thermometer

Figure 1: The experimental set up for determination of surface tension using the ring
method

The experimental set-up is shown in Figure 1. A silk thread was used to attach the ring to the
left arm of the torsion dynamometer. 600 ml of water was heated using a water boiler before
pouring it into crystallizing dish. The immersion tube and the rubber hose were filled by briefly
applying suction with the water jet pump. The ring was completely submerged. We then set
the indicator to ‘0’ and compensated the weight of the ring with the rear adjusting knob so
that the lever arm is in the white area between the marks. The temperature of water was
measure which was 80°C. The stopcock that is connected to the immersion tube via the rubber
hose was opened and the water slowly were running out from the crystallizing dish.
Continuously, the torsion dynamometer was readjusted while the liquid ran out. The
measurement was stopped at the moment when the water teared from the ring. The last
value showed in the torsion dynamometer was recorded. The water collected in the
crystallizing dish was poured back into the large beaker and the water was refilled when
necessary to make sure the volume was 600ml. The experiment then was repeated using the
temperatures of 68°C, 61°C, 56°C, 53°C, 50°C and 47°C at a constant radius of the ring, r=1
cm.

Result

In this experiment, a total of 7 sets of data at different temperature was collected. Figure 1
represents the graph of F against Θ.

10

6
F(mN)

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Θ(°C)

Figure 1: Graph F against Θ for dependence of surface tension of water.

By using equation 1, it is shown that that surface tension can be calculated by

𝐹
𝛾= (1)
𝑙

Where F is the force that acts along the edge of length, 𝑙 tangential to the surface in order
to maintain the liquid film. The 𝑙 from equation 1 can be calculated by using equation 2.
 𝑙 = 2 × 2πr (2)

Hence,

The surface tension was obtained by using different temperature of water and continuously
readjusting the torsion dynamometer while the water runs out. Therefore, when temperature
of water, Θ = 47°C, the reading of the torsion dynamometer, F = 9.1mN. Then, the value, 𝑙,
was calculated using equation 2.
Then, the value, 𝛾, was calculated using equation 1. So, the final value of 𝛾 is 0.072Nm.

The same method of calculation was repeated using different temperature of water, Θ(°C).

0.08

0.07

0.06

0.05
y(Nm)

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Θ(°C)

Figure 2: Graph of surface tension,𝛾 against temperature, Θ

From figure 2, It was concluded that the higher the temperature, Θ, the lower the surface
tension,𝛾.

Discussion
The experimental values were quite accurate but not as precise as the theoretical values. This
meant that there could be factors that affected the results for a small difference. For the
objective of the experiment, it is shown that the force and surface tension of the water
decreased as the temperature of the water increased based on table 1. This is because the
kinetic energy of the molecules increases and hence intermolecular attraction decreases
(Denny, 1993).

As stated before, there were three possible factors that could affected the inaccuracy of the
results for this experiment. A random minor disturbance while reading the radius of ring could
have caused the experimental value to differ from the theoretical values. This would have
caused the inaccuracy on the calculation for the result since the length on equation 1 requires
an accurate radius to get an accurate result, leading to wrong plotting of graph. A random
error of human reaction time in stopping the measurement of the torsion dynamometer at the
moment when the water tears from the ring could also affected the inaccuracy of the results
for this experiment (R.S., Khurmi and J.K., Gupta, 2005). This error would have caused a
differ on the reading of the force (mN), leading to wrong calculation of the experimental
values. The final factor could be that the water that was pour on the smaller beaker was not
enough to submerge the ring which should be immersed on the water. This problem would
have caused the inaccuracy in reading the torsion dynamometer.

In order to avoid above errors or flaws, a number of precaution steps should be taken. Firstly,
the eyes should always be perpendicular to the scale of the ruler while measuring the diameter
of the ring. This will help to get an accurate length for the radius of the ring. Secondly, there
should be one person reading the torsion dynamometer while the other person indicates the
reader if the water tears from the ring. This will help the reader to stop reading the torsion
dynamometer measurement at the right time to get the most accurate result. Finally, the
water should be poured on the smaller beaker until it submerged the ring because the volume
of the water does not affect the result.

Questions
1) What type of force that applied in this experiment, explain how their work?

Type of force that applied in this experiment is intermolecular forces such as Van der
Waals force. This force draws the liquid particles together. Along the surface, the particles
are pulled toward the rest of the liquid.

2) What the function of the ring in this experiment?

 According to Du Noüy experiment, the ring is used as a method for measuring the surface
tension of a liquid and the interfacial tension between two liquids. The force referred to
the wetted length acting on a ring as a result of the tension of the withdrawn liquid lamella
when moving the ring from one phase to another is measured in this method. The ring is
submerged below the interface by moving the stage where the liquid container is placed.
After immersion, the stage is gradually lowered, and the ring pulls up the meniscus of the
liquid. Eventually, this meniscus tears from the ring.

3) Discuss in your group, what the relationship between surface tension of water with
changes in the temperature of water?

In general, surface tension decreases when temperature increases because cohesive

forces decrease with an increase of molecular thermal activity. The influence of the
surrounding environment is due to the adhesive action liquid molecules have at the
interface. For instance, the faster moving molecules of a hot liquid are not bound together
as strongly as are those in a cooler liquid. Therefore, the surface tension in a hot liquid is
weaker due to the increase in temperature.

4) There is any correlation between the liquid concentration and the surface tension?

The concentration of whatever substances H2O contains has nothing to do with its surface
tension. An exception is the concentration of surfactants. The surface tension decreases
with increase in concentration. This is due to breaking of hydrogen bonds when surfactants
are added in water, leading to higher adsorption at the air-water interface. This allows an
increase in interfacial area without overall increase in energy. The most commonly known
surfactant is soap, i.e., sodium stearate. The more sodium stearate molecules present in
a certain amount of H2O, the lower the surface tension .
Conclusion

From this experiment, the temperature of water is inversely proportional to the force. Thus,
when the temperature decreases, the force will increase. On the other hand, the relationship
between the temperature of water and surface tension is decreasing linearly.

Reference

Denny, M. (1993). Air and Water. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Laurén S. (2020). Surface tension of water – Why is it so high?. Retrieved from

https://www.biolinscientific.com/blog/surface-tension-of-water-why-is-it-so-high

Resnick R., Hallway D. & Krane K.S. (2002). Physics, 1(5), 175. New York, USA: John Wiley &
Sons, INC.

R.S., Khurmi, J.K., Gupta. (2005). Theory of Machines. New Delhi, Delhi, India: S. Chand.

Serway R. A & Vuille C. (2018). College Physics. United States: Cengage Learning
Appendix