At an air–water interface, the attractive forces between the water molecules, known as

, make the water lining like a stretched balloon that constantly tends to shrink and resists further stretching.

Question

At an air–water interface, the attractive forces between the water molecules, known as 
 
, make the water lining like a stretched balloon that constantly tends to shrink and resists further stretching.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks to fill in two blanks in the sentence: 'At an air–water interface, the attractive forces between the water molecules, known as _____, make the water lining like a stretched balloon that constantly tends to shrink and resists further stretching.'

Option 空白1: If you place 'surface' in the first blank, the phrase reads 'the attractive forces between the water molecules, known as surface, ...' In this context, 'surface' alone does not name the cohesive phenomenon; the typical term used to describe the cohesive forces at an interface is 'surface tension,' not just 'surface.' So using only 'surface' for the first blank would be incomplete and misleading.

Option 空白2: If you place 'tension' in the second blank, the phrase would read '... known as tension, make the water lining like a stretched balloon ...' Without the preceding 'surface,' this would read awkwardly and omit the standard compound term used in surface science. 'Tension' by itself does not identify the specific interfacial phenomenon.

In this wiring, the scientifically correct pair is to fill the two blanks with 'surface' (first blank) and 'tension' (second blank), yielding the conventional term 'surface tension,' which describes the cohesive forces at the air–water interface that make the surface behave like a stretched film tending to shrink.

Why the common misconceptions fail:
- If someone thinks only 'surface' is enough, they miss identifying the specific interfacial force at play; 'surface' refers to the interface concept, not the force magnitude or nature.
- If someone thinks only 'tension' is enough, they lose the context of where this force acts and what it is called in the literature—'surface tension' names the phenomenon arising from cohesive forces at an interface.

Therefore, the intended scientific term is the two-word phrase 'surface tension,' aligned with the two blanks being filled in order with 'surface' and then 'tension.'

At an air–water interface, the attractive forces between the water molecules, known as , make the water lining like a stretched balloon that constantly tends to shrink and resists further stretching.

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Which statements are FALSE with regards to surface tension and the definition below? (There may be more than one answer)

Some insects can walk on water. This is possible because of which of the following?

Which of the following properties of water is shown here (a steel paper clip floating on water)?

In a consumer society, many adults channel creativity into buying things

Economic stress and unpredictable times have resulted in a booming industry for self-help products

People born without creativity never can develop it

A product has a selling price of $20, a contribution margin ratio of 40% and fixed cost of $120,000. To make a profit of $30,000. The number of units that must be sold is: Type the number without $ and a comma. Eg: 20000

Which of the following statement regarding cost is correct:

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler