Question

A molecule of octane contains about six times the mass of a molecule of water. Nevertheless, if one pours liquid octane onto liquid water, the octane floats on top of the water. How can this be?

A salt crystal dropped into a beaker of water becomes smaller and eventually seems to disappear. However, the same salt crystal remains intact at the bottom of a beaker of octane. Explain.

A beaker of water is allowed to sit underneath another, larger beaker placed upside down over it (thereby trapping air above the water). After a long period of time, a few air molecules are found in the water and a few water molecules are present in the air above the beaker. However, the air and the water mostly remain separated. Why?

Answer 1