Rank these liquids by their expected surface tension.

Question

Rank from greatest to least surface tension.

1.CH3CH2OCH3
2.CH3CH2CH2-OH
3.CH3CHOHCH2-OH
4.HO-CH2CHOHCH2-OH

So as Dr. Bob mentioned to me before surface tension is how the surface molecules stick together. Does that mean 1 has the highest surface tension.

Answer 1

I would think 4 would have the highest surface tension because you have three OH groups and that will provide more opportunities for hydrogen bond formation. With that in mind, note that #3 has two OH groups, #2 has 1 OH group, and #1 has no OH groups.

Answer 2

rank in order of most oh groups to least that will be the same as highest surface tension to lowest

Answer 3

3
2
4
1

Answer 4

4,3,2,1 is the right answer the more OH group the highest surface tension.