Final answer:
In Chemistry, adhesive forces refer to the attractions between different substances, while cohesive forces are between similar substances. These concepts can be practically explored through model building activities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Distinguishing Between Adhesive and Cohesive Forces
Understanding the differences between adhesive and cohesive forces is a fundamental concept in Chemistry. Adhesive forces are the attractive forces that occur between different substances, such as between water molecules and the surface of a glass tube. This phenomenon can be observed in capillary action where water rises in a thin tube because the adhesion to the walls is stronger than the cohesion among the water molecules. On the other hand, cohesive forces are the attractive forces between similar substances, like between water molecules within a droplet. This force is what gives a drop of water its shape and leads to phenomena such as surface tension.
Activity: Building Models
To better understand various types of bonding in molecules, an activity can be performed using colored balls or jellytots and sticks or toothpicks to build models. Covalent bonding, for example, could be represented by connecting the balls with sticks to represent the shared electrons between atoms, while ionic bonding could be depicted by arranging them into a crystal lattice structure to represent the electrostatic forces between ions.