2.3.8. Work Required to Split Droplets

Try these first

1. 1.

   What is surface tension?

   Hint

   Think about why droplets form a particular shape.

2. 2.

   Why is volume conserved when splitting a droplet?

   Hint

   Consider how matter is not created or destroyed.

3. 3.

   What causes a droplet to maintain its spherical shape?

   • Surface tension
   • Gravity
   • Volume

   Hint

   Think about the properties of liquids!

4. 4.

   True or False: The volume of a droplet changes when it is split into smaller droplets.

   • True
   • False

   Hint

   Remember that matter cannot be created or destroyed.

5. 5.

   How much work is required to split a droplet of radius 0.2 m into 8 smaller droplets, each of radius 0.1 m? Assume surface tension is 0.075 N/m.

   Hint

   Surface areas formula for spheres is needed.

6. 6.

   Investigate how different surface tension values affect the amount of work needed to split a droplet into smaller droplets, both theoretically and experimentally.

   Hint

   Consider comparing results with various liquids and their known surface tensions.