Properties of Water Lab Honors

Properties of Water Lab
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Introduction: Water is essential to life. This molecule exhibits some unique properties due to its ability to form hydrogen
bonds or because of its polarity. Those properties include: cohesion, adhesion, specific heat capacity, density, pH, and surface
tension. Water is one of the simplest yet most important molecules in the natural world. Our bodies are made up of about
60% water. Nutrients and minerals need to dissolve in our blood, which is primarily made of water. This is one way we are
able to stay alive. As you complete this lab, you will be investigating the properties of water. It is important to refer back to
your notes during this lab.
Before beginning the lab, define the following terms using your notes. These terms will be used throughout the lab.
1. Polarity (Polar Molecule):

2. Hydrogen Bond:
3. Adhesion:
4. Cohesion:
5. Surface Tension:
6. High Specific Heat/specific heat capacity:
7. Nonpolar Molecule:
8. Universal solvent:
1. Draw a water molecule, labeling the positive end, the negative end, the oxygen, and the hydrogen atoms, and how it would
connect to another water molecule. Label the bond it forms when it connects to another water molecule.
Drawing:
* It is important to make predictions for each section before you start the activity for that section. *
Part 1: The Universal Solvent

Focus Questions: What kind of substances can water dissolve? Can it dissolve everything?
1. Answer to focus questions:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prediction: What will happen when you mix salt (ionic), sugar (polar), and oil (non-polar) in three separate beakers of water?
2. Answer to prediction question:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Procedure
1. Fill all three 50 ml beakers approximately ¾ full with water.
2. Use a scoop to add a small amount of salt, about the size of a pea, into beaker A. Stir.
3. Record your results in the table below.
4. Use a different scoop to add a small amount of sugar into beaker B. Stir. Record results.
5. Use a pippette to add a small amount of oil into beaker C and stir. Record results
3. Beaker A (NaCl (Salt) & Water) Beaker B (Sucrose and Beaker C (oil and Water)
Ionic substance Water) Polar substance Non-polar substance
Reaction
4. Explain what is going on between these three beakers. Be sure to use the terms polar, nonpolar, solution, solvent, and
solute.
Beaker A:
Beaker B:
Beaker C:
5. Now, look back at your introduction to this lab, re-read it, make a connection. How is this section something you can apply
to living things such as blood flowing in your body? (Make sure to discuss, salt, sugar, non-polar substances, and blood)?
Part 2: Cohesion/Polarity
Prediction:
1. How will water behave when you drop it drop by drop on a piece of wax paper?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How will oil behave when you drop it drop by drop on a piece of wax paper?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
You will be investigating the behavior of water, which is polar, on wax, which is nonpolar. Using a disposable pipette
marked water, drop several drops of water across several places on the wax paper. Place a toothpick in the middle of one of
the drops, move the drop of water around the wax paper bumping it into the other drops of water on the paper.
3. a. Explain what property of water is being demonstrated here.
b. What property of water allows it to build up on the wax paper and form a big bubble on the wax paper?
*Answers should name the property of water and give a complete explanation.
Use the same procedure as above, except this time use oil (nonpolar), use a plastic disposable pipet labeled with the term oil.
4. a. What happened between the oil and the wax paper?
b. Why do you think this occurred?

5. How can you apply what happened in this simulation to living things? Use the terms dissolving, polar, and nonpolar
in your answer. Hint: what is your blood made of? What gets dissolved in your blood? Why is it a good thing your
blood is not made of oil?
Part 3: Surface Tension

Steel has a density of 7.8 g/cm3 while water has a density of 1.0 g/cm3. Will a steel paper clip float in water?
Prediction:
1. What will happen when you place a paper clip pin on the top layer of water in a filled beaker?
___________________________________________________________________
2. What will happen to the paper clip if you drop a drop of dish soap into the beaker?
___________________________________________________________________
Procedure
1. Fill the large beaker completely with water.
2. Observe the profile (side view) of the water in the glass.
3. Balance the paper clip on the water. Try not to disturb the water during this process.
4. Observe the profile (side view) of the paperclip on the surface of the water.
5. Put a drop of soap on the water next to the pin. Describe what happens to the water in your science journal.
3. The density of a steel paperclip is greater than the density of water, so it should not float based on this idea alone.
Explain what property of water allows the pin to float.
4. How is this property of water important to living things? Think about a water spider or insects that walk on water.
5. What happened after placing a drop of dish soap into the beaker?
6. Explain why this happened to the paperclip based on your knowledge of mixing polar and non-polar substances.
Part 4: Capillary Action

Prediction: What will happen when you place a hollow capillary tube (which mimics the tubing system in a living organism)
in a petri dish filled with colored water?
1. Answer to prediction:
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Procedure: Stand a hollow capillary tube up and into a petri dish filled with (colored water).
2. What happens to the solution when the tube is placed in it?

3. What property of water is being shown here?
4. How does life depend on this property of water? (think about blood in the body, and water moving from the ground ten
feet up to the leaves in a tree)
Part Five: Density/High Specific Heat/Specific Heat Capacity

Predictions:
1. What will happen when ice is placed in a beaker filled with water?
__________________________________________________________
2. What will happen to ice when it is placed in a beaker of ethanol?
_________________________________________________________
Ice is added to a beaker of water, and then ice is added to a beaker of ethanol.
3. a. What happened when ice was added to water?
b. Why did this occur? (Hint: think density and hydrogen bonds)
4. a. What happened when ice was added to ethanol?
b. Why did this occur? (Hint: think density)
5. How is what you witnessed (density) in this station very important for aquatic life in the winter when lakes freeze?
6. Simultaneously stick one cotton swab into a beaker of water while doing the same with a second cotton swab in a
beaker of isopropyl alcohol.
Gently draw thin lines of liquid (a few cm long) with each swab on your bench top and record how long it takes for each
line to evaporate.
7. Which substance had the higher heat of vaporization?
8. Apply the property of high specific heat (heat of vaporization) to a lake scenario.
Additional Questions:
1. When you make a pitcher of iced tea you add scoops of the sugar mix to a container of water. What property of water
allows it to dissolve the sugar mix?
2. What would the water be considered in this solution? ___________________

The sugar? _____________________________
3. Because water is ___________________ it has the ability to form ________________________ bonds.
4. Because water can form ___________________ bonds it can stick to other water molecules giving it the property of
______________________.
5. Because water can form bonds with other polar molecules, it has the property of _______________________.
6. Because water can form ______________________ bonds, it has the ability to resist extreme changes in temperature,
this is known as the property of _______________________________________.
7. Pick one of the properties of water that you learned about and describe to me how life is dependent upon that property
of water.

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Properties of Water Lab

1. Polarity (Polar Molecule):

Part 1: The Universal Solvent

3. a. Explain what property of water is being demonstrated here.

b. Why do you think this occurred?

Part 3: Surface Tension

Part 4: Capillary Action

2. What happens to the solution when the tube is placed in it?

Part Five: Density/High Specific Heat/Specific Heat Capacity

3. a. What happened when ice was added to water?

4. a. What happened when ice was added to ethanol?

b. Why did this occur? (Hint: think density)

7. Which substance had the higher heat of vaporization?

2. What would the water be considered in this solution? ___________________

3. Because water is _ it has the ability to form ______ bonds.

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