Name _________________________ Date _______ Period ___ Group ___
Lab Activity: Observing Polar Bonds
Safety: This lab utilized ethanol which is flammable and boiling water.
Secure loose clothing and take appropriate precautions.
Background: Surface tension in a liquid varies with the degree of
polarization in the molecules. Water is significantly more polar than
ethanol.
Purpose: To observe properties of polar molecules.
Materials:
Petri dish full of water
Petri dish full of ethanol
Paper clip
Disposable pipet
Capillary tube
Penny
Procedure:
1. Try to float a penny on water
2. Try to float a penny on ethanol
3. Using a plastic pipet, observe how many drops of water you can
place on penny before the water pours over the sides. Repeat with
old and new pennies.
4. Using a plastic pipet, observe how many drops of ethanol you can
place on penny before the ethanol pours over the sides. Repeat with
old and new pennies.
5. Observe the capillary action of cold water.
6. Observe the capillary action of hot water.
7. Observe the capillary action of ethanol
Analysis: Explain why the observed differences occurred between water
and ethanol
Name _________________________ Date _______ Period ___ Group ___
Lab Activity: Observing Polar Bonds
Safety: This lab utilized ethanol which is flammable and boiling water.
Secure loose clothing and take appropriate precautions.
Background: Surface tension in a liquid varies with the degree of
polarization in the molecules. Water is significantly more polar than
ethanol.
Purpose: To observe properties of polar molecules.
Materials:
Petri dish full of water
Petri dish full of ethanol
Paper clip
Disposable pipet
Capillary tube
Penny
Procedure:
1. Try to float a penny on water
2. Try to float a penny on ethanol
3. Using a plastic pipet, observe how many drops of water you can
place on penny before the water pours over the sides. Repeat with
old and new pennies.
4. Using a plastic pipet, observe how many drops of ethanol you can
place on penny before the ethanol pours over the sides. Repeat with
old and new pennies.
5. Observe the capillary action of cold water.
6. Observe the capillary action of hot water.
7. Observe the capillary action of ethanol
Analysis: Explain why the observed differences occurred between water
and ethanol