How do you measure surface tension? The fifth installment of a nine-part series is an experiment where young scientists use tubes of different sizes to measure surface tension. They calculate the average and standard deviation of the results.

Concepts

surface tension, adhesion, cohesion, capillary action, technology resources

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Instructional Ideas

• Have the class research the surface tension values of various materials and how the values relate to commercial uses of the materials

Classroom Considerations

• Learners need to be able to calculate averages and standards deviations of a data set
• Note that the procedures are written for advanced students and may need to be modified based on the needs of learners

Pros

• Directions contain diagrams of the lab set-up
• Includes reproducible worksheet in both PDF and Word forms

Cons

• Some repeat of information from previous experiment and lessons

Common Core

HSN-Q.A.1 HSA-REI.B.3 HSS-ID.A.4