Properties of Water

Properties of Water
Station 1 ( Group 1)
Materials:
Penny Water Medicine Dropper
1. Predict how many drops you will be able to put on the penny before it overflows by having each
person at your table guess.
Now, let’s see how many drops of water you can place on the surface of the penny before it overflows.
Drop water from the dropper onto the penny, keeping a careful count of each drop.
2. Draw a diagram showing the shape of the water on the penny after one drop, when the penny is
half full and just before it looks like it is going to overflow.
3. How many total drops did you get on the penny? __________________
4. If the number of drops is different from your prediction, explain your results in terms of
cohesion.
5. Now we are going to attempt the same with alcohol. Do you think you will get more or less drops
on the penny?
6. How many total drops did you get on the penny? ___________________
Properties of Water
Station 2 (Group 2)
Materials:
Penny Water Medicine Dropper Detergent
Procedures
With your finger, spread one drop of detergent on the surface of a dry penny.
1. Predict how many drops you think this penny will hold after being smeared with detergent.
Using the same dropper as before, add drops of water to the penny surface. Keep a careful count of
each drop.
2. Draw a diagram showing the shape of the water on the penny after one drop, when the penny is
half full and just before it looks like it is going to overflow.
3. Did the detergent have an effect on the outcome?
4. How does the detergent affect the water? (Look back at the definition for surface tension)
5. Explain how detergents act as cleaning agents and how it might be dangerous for the
environment.
Properties of Water
Station 3 (Group 3)
Part 1.Evaporation rates of water versus ethanol
Let’s examine the relative heats of vaporization of water and ethanol as follows:
1. Simultaneously stick one cotton swab into a beaker of water while doing the same with a second
cotton swab in a beaker of ethanol
2. Gently draw thin lines of liquid (a few cm long) with each swab on your bench top and record how
long it takes for each line to evaporate.
Questions:
1. Which substance had the higher heat of vaporization?
2. Based on your results explain why water is a much more effective coolant than alcohol for the
body.
Part 2
Water has a high specific heat capacity. Specific heat is a measure of heat capacity, is the heat required
to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1°C. Water, with its high heat capacity, therefore, changes
temperature more slowly than other compounds.
Questions:
3. Think about what happens when you boil water for pasta. Which becomes hot first, the pot or
the water in the pot?
4. Explain why this property of water is important to living organisms?
Properties of Water
Station 4 ( Group 4)
Part 1
Solubility of various solutes in water
To observe how water behaves as a solvent, you will attempt to dissolve a variety of substances in liquid
water. To do so, measure 50 ml of deionized water into each of four 100 ml beakers and attempt to
dissolve each substance by thoroughly stirring or swirling. Record the results in your lab notebook,
noting whether each substance is polar, non-polar or ionic:
Beaker #1 – 0.5 grams of NaCl, also known as “table salt” (ionic)
Beaker #2 – 0.5 grams of sucrose, also known as “table sugar” (polar)
Beaker #3 – 1 squeeze from a transfer pipet of vegetable oil (non-polar)
Beaker #4 – 1 squeeze from a transfer pipet of ethanol (polar)
Questions:
1. Which substance(s) did not dissolve completely in water? Why?
2. Compare and contrast terms polar and non-polar.
Properties of Water
Station 5.A ( Group 5)
Part 1
1. Place the ice cube in the water.
2. Describe what happened.
3. Explain why this property is important to aquatic organisms.
4. How could this also be a bad thing for an animal that gets caught out in freezing temperature?
5. Look at the lettuce that was put overnight in the freezer – what happened to its cells?
Station 5.B
Water clings to non-polar molecules.
Questions:
1. Describe what happens when you place a straw in a drink.
2. Relate this phenomenon to the water property of adhesion.
3. What organism(s) depend on this property of water? Why?

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Penny Water Medicine Dropper

Penny Water Medicine Dropper Detergent

3. Did the detergent have an effect on the outcome?

Part 1.Evaporation rates of water versus ethanol

1. Which substance had the higher heat of vaporization?

4. Explain why this property of water is important to living organisms?

Solubility of various solutes in water

Beaker #1 – 0.5 grams of NaCl, also known as “table salt” (ionic)

Beaker #2 – 0.5 grams of sucrose, also known as “table sugar” (polar)

Beaker #3 – 1 squeeze from a transfer pipet of vegetable oil (non-polar)

Beaker #4 – 1 squeeze from a transfer pipet of ethanol (polar)

1. Which substance(s) did not dissolve completely in water? Why?

2. Compare and contrast terms polar and non-polar.

1. Place the ice cube in the water.

2. Describe what happened.

3. Explain why this property is important to aquatic organisms.

Water clings to non-polar molecules.

1. Describe what happens when you place a straw in a drink.

2. Relate this phenomenon to the water property of adhesion.

3. What organism(s) depend on this property of water? Why?

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