Why does mercury have a convex meniscus while water is concave?

Why does mercury have a convex meniscus while water is concave?

When mercury is placed in a graduated cylinder, the cohesive forces in the mercury are stronger than the adhesive forces between the mercury and the glass. The strong cohesive forces within the mercury pull it together forming a convex shaped meniscus.

How is the meniscus of mercury different to that of water?

Mercury shows a convex meniscus (the centre is higher than the edges), because internal cohesive forces are stronger than the force between the glass wall and the metal. In contrast, water exhibits a concave meniscus, because the attraction between the wall and the water is stronger than the water’s internal cohesion.

Why is the surface of water in glass tubes curved?

A concave meniscus, which is what you normally will see, occurs when the molecules of the liquid are attracted to those of the container. This occurs with water and a glass tube. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules have a stronger attraction to each other than to the container, as with mercury and glass.

When mercury is kept in glass meniscus is?

Explain. Ans: Because cohesive force between molecules of mercury is greater than the adhesive force between mercury and glass molecules.

What liquids have a concave meniscus?

This occurs between water and glass. Water-based fluids like sap, honey, and milk also have a concave meniscus in glass or other wettable containers. Conversely, a convex meniscus occurs when the particles in the liquid have a stronger attraction to each other than to the material of the container.

What liquids have surface tension?

There is only one liquid having higher surface tension and that’s mercury which is a liquid metal with a surface tension of almost 500 mN/m.

Why drops of water are spherical?

Raindrops start to form in a roughly spherical structure due to the surface tension of water. On smaller raindrops, the surface tension is stronger than in larger drops. The reason is the flow of air around the drop. As the raindrop falls, it loses that rounded shape.

Why does liquid rise in a capillary tube?

The rise of a liquid in the capillary tube is due to the surface tension. Adhesion of water to the walls of the capillary tube will lead to an upward force on the liquid at the edges. This turns the meniscus in an upward direction.

Why does Mercury have a convex meniscus in a tube?

Mercury has a convex meniscus because the intermolecular forces between mercury atoms are stronger than those between mercury atoms and glass molecules of a tube. Meniscus refers to the curved upper surface of a liquid in a vertical tube.

Why is the meniscus of water concave and of?

When water is placed in a graduated cylinder, the adhesive forces between the water and the glass are stronger than the cohesive forces between the water molecules. The strong adhesive forces between the water and the glass, pull the sides of the water upwards along the glass forming a concave shaped meniscus.

Why does Mercury have no attraction to water?

Mercury, being much more dense has no such attraction because it is a liquid metal.Answer:It is due to what is called cohesion and adhesion. The water molecules are attracted to each other through cohesion, which is the attraction between similar particles (by polarity).

Why is the liquid curve in a graduated cylinder called?

When the molecules of the liquid have a greater attraction to the cylinder wall than to themselves, the meniscus is concave and the surface of the liquid curved downwards. Water drawn up a narrow glass cylinder has a concave meniscus.