Why does water wet glass when mercury does not?

Forces of adhesion between the glass molecules and the cohesive forces with the molecules is much in water where adhesion wins while in mercury, molecular cohesive force wins therefore water wet glass while mercury does not.

Why mercury does not wet glass wood or iron?

The higher the adhesive forces, the more likely a liquid is supposed to make the surface of contact wet. As it is told in the question that mercury does not wet glass, wood or iron, it is so because the cohesive forces are greater than the adhesive forces for the respective substances.

What is the difference between mercury and water?

Mercury has a density of 13.5 g/mL, which is about 13.5 times denser than water (1.0 g/mL), so a small amount of mercury like this feels unexpectedly heavy. Because liquid mercury expands and contracts in a predictable fashion with temperature, it can be used in thermometers, such as the lab thermometer shown below.

Which one among the following does not wet the walls of the glass vessel in which it is kept?

Detailed Solution. The correct option is 3 i.e. Mercury. Mercury does not wet the glass surface. The cohesive forces within the drops of mercury are stronger than the adhesive forces between the drops and glass.

What is cohesive force?

cohesion, in physics, the intermolecular attractive force acting between two adjacent portions of a substance, particularly of a solid or liquid. It is this force that holds a piece of matter together. Intermolecular forces act also between two dissimilar substances in contact, a phenomenon called adhesion.

What is the difference between cohesive and adhesive forces?

Explanation: The force of cohesion is defined as the force of attraction between molecules of the same substance. The force of adhesion is defined as the force of attraction between different substances, such as glass and water.

Is Mercury cohesive or adhesive?

Mercury has very small adhesive forces with most container materials, and strong cohesive forces. Little drops of mercury will form into almost spheres when spilled on most surfaces (gravity will bend them out of shape).

Which property causes water to form beads?

Small insects, such as water striders, can walk on water by taking advantage of this surface tension. It is what causes raindrops to form round beads when they fall onto a car windshield. Water molecules are not attracted only to each other. Adhesion is the tendency of water to stick to other substances.

Does mercury wet glass?

Mercury does not wet glass – the cohesive forces within the drops are stronger than the adhesive forces between the drops and glass. When liquid mercury is confined in a tube, its surface (meniscus) has a convex shape because the cohesive forces in liquid mercury tend to draw it into a drop.

How does water wet in glass?

This is because the glass is hydrophilic (water-liking). When we put a drop of water on a glass surface, it spreads and that’s what makes it wet. The adhesive forces between water molecules are less than the cohesive forces exerted by the glass and hence water spreads.