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Wonderful question, wonderful answer: "Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no straight lines." --R. Buckminster Fuller Do molecules have a surface? Yes and no. The surface of a molecule is less clearly defined the closer one gets to it to inspect it. The molecule is, after all, atoms, and the surface of atoms isn't clearly defined, so why would a molecule's? The outer surface is just a "fuzzy area" where electrons may, or may not be at any given moment. The surface is "harder" as one gets closer and the probability of electrons actually being there increases.

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Why do you say that evaporation is a surface phenomenon?

Evaporation occurs at the surface of a liquid because it involves the conversion of liquid water molecules at the surface into water vapor molecules. This process requires energy to break the intermolecular bonds at the surface of the liquid, which is why it is considered a surface phenomenon.


What is the tightness across the surface of water is called?

Surface tension is the tightness across the surface of water caused by the attraction between water molecules.


What is example of adhesive force?

An example of adhesive force is when water sticks to a surface, such as glass. This occurs because the water molecules are attracted to the molecules on the surface, creating a force that keeps them attached.


Why do larger surface area evaporate faster?

Larger surface areas have more molecules exposed to the surrounding environment, increasing the chances of molecules with sufficient energy to overcome the intermolecular forces and evaporate. This leads to a higher rate of evaporation compared to objects with smaller surface areas, where fewer molecules are available to evaporate.


What is called the curvature in the water surface and what its cause?

The curvature in the water surface is called surface tension. It is caused by the attractive forces between water molecules, which pull the molecules at the surface inward, creating a sort of "skin" on the surface that resists external forces. This is what allows small objects, like paper clips, to float on water.

Related Questions

Can water molecules evaporate at the surface or below the surface?

Water molecules can evaporate from the surface of water, where they gain enough energy to overcome surface tension and escape into the air. Below the surface, water molecules can also evaporate through a process known as sublimation, where molecules transition directly from a solid to a gas, although this is less common.


Why do molecules at the surface of a liquid behave differently from molecules in the interior of the liquid?

In the interior the intermolecular forces of attraction is equal in all directions but the molecules at the surface of liquid experiences unequal intermolecular forces of attraction. the molecules at the surface are free so the adsorb liquid or gaseous molecules


Is the inward force among the molecules of a liquid?

The inward force among the molecules of a liquid is known as cohesive force. It is responsible for keeping the molecules together and creating surface tension in the liquid.


Why do the molecules at the surface of water exhibit a stronger attraction inwards compared to those not at the surface?

The molecules at the surface of water experience a stronger inward attraction due to the imbalance of forces acting on them. While molecules within the bulk of the water are surrounded by other water molecules and experience equal attractive forces in all directions, surface molecules only have neighboring molecules on the sides and below, leading to a net inward pull. This phenomenon results in surface tension, which allows the surface to behave like a stretched elastic membrane.


Why evaporation known as surface phenomena?

Evaporation is known as surface phenomena because molecules of water present on the surface of liquid are bonded weakly as compaered to inner molecules and when temperature increases hydrogen bonding between water molecules breaks.Due to this water molecules tend to evaporate.so that's why it is called as surface phenomena.


Do small molecules have high surface tension?

Generally larger molecules with stronger intermolecular forces have higher surface tension. This tendency can be seen if you look at the surface tensions of the alkanes. Water is a clear exeption to this pattern due to the very strong hydrogen bonds.


What are molecules used for?

You can find molecules on every surface of the world because molecules are the smallest particle of a substance.


Why does kerosene have less surface tension?

Kerosene has less surface tension than water because its molecules are less polar and can't form hydrogen bonds as easily as water molecules. This results in weaker intermolecular forces between kerosene molecules at the surface, leading to lower surface tension.


Does plasma membranes have molecules on their surface that identifies them?

No


The surface tension of water is caused by the water molecules on the surface experiencing?

unequal forces of attraction from the molecules below and beside them. This creates a stronger cohesive force among the surface molecules, causing them to pull together tightly and minimizing the surface area, resulting in surface tension.


What membrane surface molecules bind to proteins and serve as molecules identification tags?

Carbohydrates


What are particles of a liquid that are pulled close together at the surface called?

The particles of a liquid that are pulled close together at the surface are called surface molecules. These molecules experience a greater cohesive force due to their interactions with neighboring molecules, leading to the phenomenon known as surface tension. Surface tension causes the liquid to behave as if its surface is covered by an elastic membrane, allowing it to resist external force.