What is the effect of temperature on the surface tension of a liquid?
Correct Answer: Surface tension decreases with increase in temperature.
- Step 1: Understand what surface tension is. Surface tension is the force that makes the surface of a liquid behave like a stretched elastic sheet.
- Step 2: Know that temperature is a measure of how hot or cold something is.
- Step 3: Realize that when temperature increases, the molecules in the liquid move faster because they have more energy.
- Step 4: Recognize that faster-moving molecules are less likely to stick together tightly, which means the cohesive forces between them decrease.
- Step 5: Understand that when cohesive forces decrease, the surface tension of the liquid also decreases.
- Step 6: Conclude that as temperature goes up, surface tension goes down.
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