On the Surface: Mini-Activities Exploring Surface Phenomena

These activities can be used to introduce surface tension and surface area when discussing properties of liquids and gases. Activity 4 (not included on the Student Side) can also be used in kinetics as an example of increasing reaction rate by increasing the surface area of a solid reactant. All items used are common household materials. If the activity is to be done at home, you may need to provide some students with a disposable dropper and plastic sheet (such as overhead transparency, used report cover, or plastic "blister pack" packaging).

This actvity sheet is available as a PDF file. You will need to download Acrobat Reader to be able to read this file.