Leira Kim R.

Sandoval Date Performed: October 24, 2017

3-ChEB / Group no. 6 Date Submitted: November 5, 2017
Experiment No. 2
Viscosity

INTRODUCTION

Viscosity is a fluid property that measures the resistance of a fluid to which is being
deformed by either shear stress or tensile stress. In everyday terms (and for fluids only),
viscosity is "thickness" or "internal friction". Thus, Fluids that have a high viscosity have a
high resistance to flow while fluids with a low viscosity flow easily. Put simply, the less
viscous the fluid is, the greater its ease of movement (fluidity). [1] The resistance to
deformation within a fluid can be expressed as absolute viscosity, µ [centipoise], and
relative viscosity, [g/mL].
Absolute viscosity is defined as the resistance that one part of a fluid exerts to the
flow of another part of the fluid. It is determined by observing the rate of flow through
capillary tubes, and applying the Poisseiulle’s law.
𝑑𝑝𝑔𝑟 4
µ=
8𝐿𝑣
While absolute viscosity is able to quantifiably compare various liquids and gases
on the same scale, it does not account for an important characteristic of fluids – the density
(ρ). [2] Relative viscosity is the ratio of its absolute viscosity to that of another liquid at the
same temperature. Since the pressure of a liquid in a viscometer is proportional to its
density and since the terms g, r, v and L in the equation are the same for both liquids, then
the relative viscosity is measured by the ratio of the viscosities.
𝜇1 𝜌1 𝑡1
=
𝜇2 𝜌2 𝑡2
In this experiment, the relative and absolute viscosities of water and three other
liquid samples are to be measured. Also, the effect of temperature and the nature of the
samples on their measured viscosities are to be determined using specific liquid samples –
distilled water, methanol, ethanol, propanol and glycerol.
METHODOLOGY

To learn more about the viscosity, the materials needed were prepared first. The
following liquid samples were procured: distilled water, methanol, ethanol, propanol and
glycerol. The experiment had three parts namely standardization of the viscometer,
determination of relative viscosities and determination of absolute viscosities.
For the first part, the viscometer was thoroughly and carefully cleaned. Using a
stand and a clamp, the viscometer is tightly held vertically into a thermostat bath with all
the bulbs immersed. Enough water is then introduced into the viscometer to fill half of the
large bulb. The temperature of the water bath was kept constant and the temperature was
set at room conditions.
For the second part, the set up for the experiment was shown in figure 1. The
outflow time for each of these liquids were determined and the time of efflux was recorded.
The procedure was then repeated at 40, 50 and 60°C using one of the assigned liquid.
Readings were recorded at each temperature and at each liquid sample.
The density of the assigned liquid was then determined using the pycnometer. The
empty pycnometer was weighed and filled with sample. It was immersed into the bath up to
the neck. When the target temperature was reached, the lid was gently covered and the
volume was recorded. The pycnometer was wiped dry and weighed at room temperature.
For the last part, a sample of glycerol was transferred to a narrow 150-mL beaker.
The set-up for the experiment was shown in figure 2. A spindle was attached to the
viscotester and then submerged up to the mark. The speed was set to the least value and the
dial reading was checked if it is more than 10 but less than 100. The chart was then used
and the viscosity was recorded.
 Iron Clamp
Thermometer
Otswald-Cannon
Viscometer
Beaker Brookfield
Viscometer

Liquid
Sample
Beaker
Iron Stand

Hot Plate
Figure 1: Relative Viscosity Set-Up Figure 2: Absolute Viscosity Set-Up

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Standardization of the Viscometer

Time vs. Temperature

6

4
Water
Time

3
Methanol
2
Ethanol
1 Propanol

0
0 20 40 60 80
Temperature

Figure 3: Plot of Time vs. Temperature of the Liquid Samples

The graph shows the relationship of temperature and time. Notice that as the
temperature of liquid sample increases, the time necessary to flow decreases. The liquid
sample that has the fastest time to flow was distilled water from 2.41 seconds to 2.15
seconds, while propanol said to be the slowest from 5.29 seconds to 3.62 seconds.
B. Determination of Relative Viscosities

Viscosity vs. Temperature

0.8

Viscosity (mPa.s)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
40 50 60
Temperature (°C)

Figure 4: Plot of Viscosity vs. Temperature of the Distilled Water

The graph shows the relationship of viscosity and temperature of distilled water at
40, 50 and 60˚C. The graph tells us that as the temperature of the distilled water increases,
its viscosity decreases from 0.6531cP at 40˚C to 0.4658cP at 60˚C.

Viscosity vs. Temperature

0.6
Viscosity (mPa.s)

0.4
0.2
0
40 50 60
Temperature (°C)

Figure 5: Plot of Viscosity vs. Temperature of the Methanol

The graph shows the relationship of viscosity and temperature of methanol at 40, 50
and 60˚C. The graph tells us that as the temperature of the methanol increases, its viscosity
decreases from 0.5171cP to 0.3628cP. Methanol gathered the smallest value of viscosity
compared to the other liquids.
 Viscosity vs. Temperature
0.8

Viscosity (mPa.s)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
40 50 60
Temperature (°C)

Figure 6: Plot of Viscosity vs. Temperature of the Ethanol

The graph shows the relationship of viscosity and temperature of ethane alcohol at
40, 50 and 60˚C. The graph tells us that as the temperature of the ethanol increases, its
viscosity decreases from 0.7343cP at 40˚C to 0.4596cP at 60˚C.

Viscosity vs. Temperature

1.5
Viscosity (mPa.s)

1
0.5
0
40 50 60
Temperature (°C)

Figure 7: Plot of Viscosity vs. Temperature of the Propanol

The graph shows the relationship of viscosity and temperature of propanol at 40, 50
and 60˚C. The graph tells us that as the temperature of the propanol increases, its viscosity
decreases from 1.1509cP to 0.6295cP. Propanol gathered the highest value of viscosity
compared to the other liquids.
C. Determination of Absolute Viscosities

Viscosity vs. No. of Carbon Atoms

1.0000

0.8000

Viscosity
0.6000

0.4000

0.2000

0.0000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
No. of Carbons

Figure 8: Plot of Viscosity vs. No. of Carbon Atoms

The graph shows the relationship of average viscosity and number of Carbon atoms
in the alcohols. The graph tells us that as the number of Carbon atoms increases, its
viscosity also increase from 0.4329cP to 0.8686cP.
ANSWER TO QUESTIONS

Trapped bubbles in the viscometer can cause great difficulty and large error in the
experiment. The effect of trapped bubbles is that its measured time is faster compare to the
time of a viscometer without bubbles. On the other hand, its effect on the relative viscosity
is that it can make result smaller since time is directly proportional to viscosity, which
means, the smaller the value of the time, the smaller the value of viscosity will be.
Based on the experiment performed, it shows that the viscosity of water is greater
than the viscosities of the other three liquid samples. Density is the main factor that brings
about such differences. Through the data we gathered, it is apparent that the density of
water is greater than the three liquid by about 0.2000 g/mL. Since density is directly
proportional to the viscosity, therefore, the smaller the density of a liquid makes the liquid
less viscous.
Having known that the viscosity of a liquid is important. Thus, viscosity plays a
vital role to our daily lives. In the medical field for example, doctor always measures how
viscous the blood of his patient is. It is because when a patient’s blood is too thick, it can
cause clotting and lead to a heart attack or stroke, or if it’s too thin then he can readily
bleed from a small cut for hours. On the other hand, in the Chemical Engineering field,
viscosity measurement also plays a big part in the industry. For example, given the average
demand of water for the town for any given time, and knowing the viscosity of water,
engineers will be able to know the flow of the water, the pressure of the pipes underground
and more to follow.
A viscometer measures the torque required to rotate a spindle in a fluid. The spindle
is driven by a synchronous motor through a calibrated spring and the deflection of the
spring is displayed by the viscometer. By changing speeds and spindles, a variety of
viscosity ranges can be measured. For a given viscosity, the resistance to flow is
proportional to the spindle's speed of rotation and is related to the spindle's size and shape.
The resistance increases with an increase of spindle's size and/or rotational speed. For a
given spindle geometry and speed, an increase in viscosity will be indicated by an increase
in the deflection of the spring.
CONCLUSION
Viscosity was performed through the standardization of the viscometer,
determination of relative viscosities and determination of absolute viscosities where
distilled water, methanol, ethanol, propanol and glycerol were used as a liquid sample.
Viscosity is an internal property of fluid that proffers resistance to flow. Viscosity depends
on the properties of liquid. The fluid is either thick (high viscosity) or thin (low viscosity).
After performing this experiment, we therefore conclude that viscosity varies with
temperature. In general, the viscosity of a simple liquid decreases with increasing
temperature (and vice versa). As temperature increases, the average speed of the molecules
in a liquid increases and the amount of time they spend “in contact” with their nearest
neighbors decreases. Thus, as temperature increases, the average intermolecular forces
decrease. The exact manner in which the two quantities vary is nonlinear and changes
suddenly when the liquid changes phase. Viscosity is normally independent of pressure;
this do not vary the value of viscosity. Since liquids are normally incompressible, an
increase in pressure doesn’t really bring the molecules significantly closer together.
We hope to have knowledge on the viscosity. The ability of the experiment is its
capability to measure the absolute and relative viscosity and to determine the effect of
temperature and the nature of the samples on their measured viscosities.
Lastly, we highly recommend enhancing and taking extra care during the
experiment. One must not be ignorant on the flow that each liquid sample has undergone
and be sure to be able to record each time that was read. Through the enhancement, the
results shown in the observation will show higher effective results
REFERENCES

[1] Symon, Keith (1971). Mechanics (Third ed.). Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-07392-7.
p 478.

[2] Atkins, P., De Paula Julio (2010) Physical Chemistry (Tenth Ed.). W.H. Freeman and
Company New York ISBN 1-4292-1812-6. P 720

[3] J.M, C. a. (2006). Fluid Mechanics Fundamentals and Application. United Kingdom:
Mc Graw – Hill. Viscosity. p 46

[4] Mott, R. L. (2006). Applied Fluid Mechanics 6th ed. Singapore: Pearson Prentice
Hall. Viscosity of Fluids. p 23-24

[5] White, F. M. (2008). Fluid Mechanic 6th ed. New York: Mc Graw – Hill.Viscosity.
p 14
APPENDIX
Table 1: Average time of a liquid sample to pass the two calibration marks at a given
temperature (40˚C, 50˚C & 60˚C)
Liquid Sample @ 40˚C (s) @ 50˚C (s) @ 60˚C (s)
Distilled Water (H2O) 2.41s 2.32s 2.15s
Methanol (CH3OH ) 2.45s 2.28s 2.15s
Ethanol (CH3CH2OH ) 3.32s 2.95s 2.60s
Propanol (CH3CH2CH2OH ) 5.29s 4.36s 3.62s

Mass of Pycnometer = 16.3789g Pre-reference = 0.8799

Table 2: Determination of Relative Viscosities of Distilled Water (H2O) at a given

temperature (40˚C, 50˚C & 60˚C)
Temperature Mass of the liquid Density ( g / cm3 ) Relative Viscosities
(g) ( μ ) (cP)
@ 40˚C 9.8595 0.9979 0.6531
@ 50˚C 9.8590 0.9979 0.5471
@ 60˚C 9.8599 0.9980 0.4658

Table 2.1: Determination of Relative Viscosities of Methanol (CH3OH) at a given

temperature (40˚C, 50˚C & 60˚C)
Temperature Mass of the liquid Density ( g / cm3 ) Relative Viscosities
(g) ( μ ) (cP)
@ 40˚C 7.6796 0.7773 0.5171
@ 50˚C 7.6794 0.7773 0.4188
@ 60˚C 7.6790 0.7772 0.3628

Table 2.2: Determination of Relative Viscosities of Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) at a given

temperature (40˚C, 50˚C & 60˚C)
Temperature Mass of the liquid Density ( g / cm3 ) Relative Viscosities
(g) ( μ ) (cP)
@ 40˚C 8.0473 0.8145 0.7343
@ 50˚C 8.0477 0.8146 0.5679
@ 60˚C 8.0466 0.8144 0.4596
 Table 2.3: Determination of Relative Viscosities of Propanol (CH3CH2CH2OH) at a given
temperature (40˚C, 50˚C & 60˚C)
Temperature Mass of the liquid Density ( g / cm3 ) Relative Viscosities
(g) ( μ ) (cP)
@ 40˚C 7.9155 0.8012 1.1509
@ 50˚C 7.9150 0.8011 0.8254
@ 60˚C 7.9140 0.8010 0.6295

Table 3: Data of Results of the Absolute Viscosity

LVT w/ # 62 spindle @ 12 rpm
Trial 1 Dial Reading: 26 Factor: 25
26 x 25 = 650 centipoise (mPa·s)
LVT w/ # 62 spindle @ 6 rpm
Trial 2 Dial Reading: 13 Factor: 50
13 x 50 = 650 centipoise (mPa·s)
LVT w/ # 63 spindle @ 30 rpm
Trial 3 Dial Reading: 16.5 Factor: 40
16.5 x 40 = 660 centipoise (mPa·s)

Alcohol No. of Average

Carbon Viscosity
Methanol 1 0.4329
Ethanol 2 0.5873
Propanol 3 0.8686

DENSITY VISCOSITY
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑔) 𝜇1 𝜌1 𝑡1
𝜌= =
𝑣𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑦𝑐𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑐𝑚3 ) 𝜇2 𝜌2 𝑡2

Density Methanol @ 40°C: Viscosity of Methanol @ 40°C:

7.6796𝑔
𝜌= 0.6531𝑐𝑃 (0.9979𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.41𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.7773𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.45𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.7773
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.5171𝑐𝑃
Density Methanol @ 50°C: Viscosity of Methanol @ 50°C:
7.6794𝑔
𝜌= 0.5471𝑐𝑃 (0.9979𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.32𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.7773𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.28𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.7773
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.4188𝑐𝑃

Density Methanol @ 60°C: Viscosity of Methanol @ 60°C:

7.679𝑔
𝜌= 0.4658𝑐𝑃 (0.9980𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.15𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.7772𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.15𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.7772
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.3628𝑐𝑃

Density Ethanol @ 40°C: Viscosity of Ethanol @ 40°C:

8.0473𝑔
𝜌= 0.6531𝑐𝑃 (0.9979𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.41𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.8145𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(3.32𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.8145
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.7343𝑐𝑃

Density Ethanol @ 50°C: Viscosity of Ethanol @ 50°C:

8.0477𝑔
𝜌= 0.5471𝑐𝑃 (0.9979𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.32𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.8146𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.95𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.8146
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.5679𝑐𝑃

Density Ethanol @ 60°C: Viscosity of Ethanol @ 60°C:

8.0466𝑔
𝜌= 0.4658𝑐𝑃 (0.9980𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.15𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.8144𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.60𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.8144
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.4597𝑐𝑃

Density Propanol @ 40°C: Viscosity of Propanol @ 40°C:

7.9155𝑔
𝜌= 0.6531𝑐𝑃 (0.9979𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.41𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.8012𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(5.29𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.8012
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 1.1509𝑐𝑃
Density Propanol @ 50°C: Viscosity of Propanol @ 50°C:
7.9150𝑔
𝜌= 0.5471𝑐𝑃 (0.9979𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.32𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.8011𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(4.36𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.8011
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.8254𝑐𝑃

Density Ethanol @ 60°C: Viscosity of Propanol @ 60°C:

7.9140𝑔
𝜌= 0.4658𝑐𝑃 (0.9980𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(2.15𝑠)
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 =
𝜇2 (0.8010𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 )(3.62𝑠)
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.8010
𝑐𝑚3 𝜇2 = 0.6295𝑐𝑃

Density Distilled Water @ 40°C: Density Distilled Water @ 60°C:

9.8596𝑔 9.8599𝑔
𝜌= 𝜌=
9.8799𝑐𝑚3 9.8799𝑐𝑚3
𝑔 𝑔
𝜌 = 0.9979 𝜌 = 0.9980
𝑐𝑚3 𝑐𝑚3

Density Distilled Water @ 50°C:

9.8590𝑔
𝜌=
9.8799𝑐𝑚3
𝑔
𝜌 = 0.9979
𝑐𝑚3