Question

Which is expected to have a larger surface tension at a given temperature, CCl4 or H2O? Explain your answer please.

Answer 1

Water(H2O) has a higher surface tension because the Hydrogen bonds pull the molecules inward creating a higher surface tension. This is because the hydrogens bonds are stronger intermolecular forces than the van der waals forces, which are experimenting the Carbon tetrachloride(CCl4) that is non-polar, so it won't have a high surface tension. The only force it can experiment is the Van der Waals forces, while water, can experiment hydrogen bonding which is stronger.

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