A liquid of density 1.1 g cm⁻³ climbs to a height of 5.0 cm when a capillary with internal radius of 0.2 mm is dipped into it. The surface tension (in Nm⁻¹) of the liquid is closest to

Concept:

The height to which a liquid rises in a capillary tube can be calculated using the following equation:

,

where:

• h is the height to which the liquid rises
• T is the surface tension of the liquid
• θ is the angle of contact between the liquid and the capillary tube
• ρ is the density of the liquid
• g is the acceleration due to gravity
• r is the radius of the capillary tube.

Explanation:

We can rearrange this equation to solve for the surface tension:

Substituting the given values, we get:

Note that the angle of contact between the liquid and the capillary tube is assumed to be 0° because the liquid wets the capillary completely.

Converting the units to Nm⁻¹, we get:

T ≈ 0.054 Nm⁻¹.

Conclusion:
Therefore, the surface tension of the liquid is closest to 0.05 Nm⁻¹.