Despite the fact that mercury has stronger intermolecular forces than water, water rises up in a glass tube while mercury moves down because of the cohesive and adhesive forces between the liquid and the glass. Water has a stronger adhesive force with glass than mercury does, which means that the water molecules are more attracted to the glass than to each other or to the mercury molecules. This causes the water to rise up in the glass tube, forming a meniscus at the top. Conversely, mercury has a weaker adhesive force with glass than water does, which means that the mercury molecules are more attracted to each other than to the glass. This causes the mercury to move down in the glass tube, forming a concave meniscus at the top.