Question

How do intermolecular forces affect capillary action?

Answer 1

Hint: Capillary tube is a thin and hollow tube, used in usually thermometers for taking samples for checking melting points. Its diameter is of the range 0.5 mm to 3 mm. The action through which any substance rises in this tube is the capillary action.

Complete answer: Intermolecular forces are the attractive forces that prevail in any chemical compound through which the atoms or the molecules can exist. These forces are of types like, covalent forces, ionic forces, dipole forces, etc.
A thin capillary tube is used in various practical applications in chemistry. The compound that needs to be filled in this tube does not have any mechanism of going inside the capillary tube. The intermolecular forces of a compound are solely responsible for filling any compound in the capillary tube.
The compound in the capillary tube rises irrespective of the gravitational force pulling it back. This action is called capillary action, which is due to the intermolecular forces. The capillary action is the combination of two forces acting simultaneously that balance each other. These are the cohesive forces of the intermolecular force and the adhesive force that the liquid is having on the walls of the capillary tube. The cohesive force holds together the liquid molecule inside the glass tube, while the adhesive force is responsible to rise up the liquid in the tube.
Hence, the intermolecular forces affect the capillary action.

Additional information: Plants use capillary action for the transport of fluids and nutrients to their parts. The strong adhesive forces in plants are due to cellulose.

Note: The rising of the liquid in the capillary tube depends on the diameter of the glass capillary tube. The smaller the diameter of the glass tube, more upward the liquid will rise in the capillary tube.