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Properties of Water at Home Lab

The document describes several properties of water including its polar nature, ability to form hydrogen bonds, and role as a universal solvent. Experiments are presented to demonstrate water's high surface tension, ability to dissolve ionic substances like salt but not nonpolar oils, and how detergents reduce surface tension allowing water to spread more easily.

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260 views5 pages

Properties of Water at Home Lab

The document describes several properties of water including its polar nature, ability to form hydrogen bonds, and role as a universal solvent. Experiments are presented to demonstrate water's high surface tension, ability to dissolve ionic substances like salt but not nonpolar oils, and how detergents reduce surface tension allowing water to spread more easily.

Uploaded by

kim_pepler
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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At Home Lab: The Properties of Water

Background: Water is a polar covalent molecular compound with ionic characteristics that
make it perfect to support life processes. The following lab will introduce you to some of the
characteristics of this precious liquid.
You should realize that all properties of water are a consequence of the chemical arrangement
of the water molecule.
Two Types of Covalent Bonds
There are two types of covalent bonds: polar and non-polar. Molecules joined by polar
covalent bonds are not "sharing" the electrons evenly and will have resulting areas of partial
charge around different areas of the molecule. Molecules joined by non-polar covalent bonds
are "sharing" the electrons evenly and will not have areas of partial charge around the
molecule.
Water, H2O, is a polar molecule. The oxygen atom shares pairs of electrons with hydrogen in an
unequal manner. Since oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, it has the tendency to
pull the electrons towards itself more than the hydrogen atom does. Consequently, a partial
charge results at each end of the water molecule; the oxygen will have a negative partial charge
and the hydrogens will be slightly positive.
Hydrogen Bonds
These partial charges result in the ability of water to exhibit intermolecular forces, specifically,
hydrogen bonds. These bonds are individually weak, but collectively powerful, forces of
attraction between a hydrogen atom from one molecule and the oxygen of a neighboring water
molecule. This makes water molecules kind of "sticky."
H-bonds are important because they allow water molecules to:

 stick to other water molecules - cohesion


 stick to surfaces - adhesion
 absorb large amounts of heat before changing phase or boiling – high latent heat
 dissolve numerous substances - universal solvent
Solutions and the Universal Solvent
Solutions are homogeneous mixtures comprised of a solute (the dissolved substances) mixed in
a solvent (what it is dissolved in). Solutions are physical combinations (mixtures), not chemical
combinations (compounds).
Water is termed the "universal solvent" because it dissolves more substances than any other
liquid known. This means that wherever water goes, either through the ground or through our
bodies, it takes along valuable chemicals, minerals and nutrients.
There are many ways that this is relevant to life. Salts are comprised of positive ions and
negative ions. The negative end of the water molecule attracts and surrounds the positive ions
while the positive end of water attracts and surrounds the negative ions. Most biologically
important small molecules in our body are either polar covalent compounds or salts.
Water and Oils
Oil is not soluble in water. Water is polar and oil is non-polar. Because of this, they avoid each
other. Since oil is lighter than water it floats; oil resting on the surface of a body of water tends
to accumulate in one glob thereby minimizing the amount of its surface area in contact with the
water. When a sample of water and oil are shaken to try to force the oil to go into solution, the
oil forms little balls that are temporarily suspended in the water. The spherical shape allows for
the smallest possible surface area to be in contact with water for any given volume of oil. When
the balls of oil get very small they can stay suspended in the water for longer. However,
eventually, they will float to the surface again and reform the glob.
Water and Detergents
Detergents (or soaps) are molecules which have polar ends that love water (hydrophilic) and
non-polar (hydrophobic) ends which love grease.
Water organizes detergent into soap bubbles. In the soap bubble, the detergent forms a water
sandwich, with detergent as an outer and inner layer and water in the middle. Of course, the
polar ends of the detergent face the inner water layer and the non-polar ends of the detergent
are on the outside.
When we shake together water, oil, and detergent, the non-polar end of the detergent
becomes embedded in the grease ball (like dissolves like) leaving all the polar ends of the
detergent facing the water. Thus, the small droplets of oil have become surrounded by the
detergent. The surface of this new "fuzzy" grease ball is the polar ends of the detergent which
have an affinity for water and can stay suspended in it longer and do not stick to the side of the
bottle to avoid water like the oil alone would.
Water, Surface Tension and Surfactants
Water, the liquid commonly used for cleaning, has a property called surface tension. In a body
of the water each molecule is surrounded and attracted by other water molecules. However, at
the surface, these molecules are surrounded by other water molecules only on the water side.
A tension is created as the water molecules at the surface are pulled into the body of the water.
This tension causes water to bead up on surfaces (glass, fabric), which slows wetting of the
surface and inhibits the cleaning process. You can see surface tension at work by placing a drop
of water onto a counter top. The drop will hold its shape and will not spread.
In the cleaning process, surface tension must be reduced so that water can spread and wet
surfaces. Chemicals that are able to do this effectively are called surface active agents, or
surfactants, they are said to make water "wetter."
Materials:

 a dime
 eyedropper
 a small piece of wax paper
 food colouring
 a toothpick
 dish soap
 beaker or glass
 paperclip
 cooking oil
Procedure and Results:
Part A: How Many Water Drops Fit on a Dime ?
How many drops of water do you think will fit on the head of a dime? Write your complete
hypothesis here.
Using an eye dropper, slowly drop water onto a dime counting each drop until it overflows.
How many drops of water fit on the head of a dime without overflowing?

Take a picture of your work with your phone or camera and integrate it here.
Draw what the dime looked like, as viewed from the side, before it overflowed and integrate it
here.
Part B The Effect of Detergent on A Water Droplet
Place one drop of water on your piece of wax paper.
Place a toothpick in soap and dip it into the water droplet.
Take a picture of your work with your phone or camera and integrate it here.
Draw a diagram of the result here.
Record your observations.
Part C Paperclips and Water
 Fill a beaker, or cup, till it is just about to overflow.
 Balance a paper clip on the surface of water (hint: don’t let your fingers touch the water)

Take a picture of your work with your phone or camera and integrate it here.

 Touch the paper clip once it is balanced. What happens?


 Balance the paper clip again. Add one drop of detergent to the water and record what
happens.
Part D Oil, Salt and Water
1. Fill a clean beaker 1/3 of the way with water.
2. Add two drops of food colouring to it. Allow the water to become a uniform color before
moving on to the next step.
3. Add a small amount of cooking oil to the beaker of water.
Take a picture of your work with your phone or camera and integrate it here. Record your
observations.
4. Empty the contents of your beaker into the sink and clean the interior of the beaker.
5. Using the same beaker (which should now be clean), add a small amount of salt to a
beaker filled with water.
Take a picture of your work with your phone or camera and integrate it here. Record your
observations.
Questions and Data Analysis
1. Draw a diagram of one water molecule with all associated charges here. In pencil, as for ALL
diagrams in labs in science!
2. Draw a diagram of the intramolecular forces between at least three molecules of water
below.

Part A Dime
1. How did the droplet of water on the surface of the dime demonstrate both adhesive
and cohesive properties of water?
2. Explain these properties in molecular terms.
Part B Detergent
3. What effect does soap have on water?
4. Explain this effect in molecular terms.
Part C Surface Tension and Cohesion
5. When you placed the paper clip on top of the water, was it floating? If not, then what was
holding it up?
6. Why do you think the paper clip sank to the bottom of the beaker when you added a
drop of mild detergent to the beaker?
Part D Miscibility, Mixtures and Solutions
1. Based on your observations for Part D which substance was nonpolar - the cooking oil or
the salt?
2. Based on your observations for Part D, which substance was polar or ionic?

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