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What property of water gives it a strong surface tension?

It dissolves ionic substances.
It expands when it freezes.
It stores large amounts of heat.
It forms hydrogen bonds.

User OunknownO
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2 Answers

3 votes

Answer:it forms hydrogen bonds

Step-by-step explanation:

User Jbub
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5 votes

Hi!


The correct answer would be: It forms hydrogen bonds.


Explanation

Surface tension can be described as an elastic tendency of a liquid's surface to resist a change/force applied from the outside. This property is a result of cohesive forces between the particles of a liquid at the surface. Water molecules contain polar bonds ( s+ H -- O s- ) due to the difference of electronegativity difference between the Oxygen and Hydrogen atom. This results in the formation of hydrogen bonds between water molecules (refer to attached image for clarity).

Hydrogen bonds are relatively strong bonds, and are the cohesive forces at the surface of water. When a lot of water molecules come together forming hydrogen bonds, a lattice is created in the form of a film which imparts high surface tension. Surface tension is why water molecules result in bubbles, drops and the phenomena of water's capillary action.

None of the other options contribute to the high surface tension property of water.


Hope this helps!

What property of water gives it a strong surface tension? It dissolves ionic substances-example-1
User Hanzi
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