You walk down into your basement only to find that the carpeting on the floor is damp.Concerned,you look around for any large puddles of water or broken pipes,but find none.In fact,only the basement floor and carpeting is damp.Thinking about the properties of water,you realize that water must have wicked into the porous material,defying gravity.To which properties of water can this effect be attributed?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Adhesion is the property of water that allows it to stick to other surfaces, such as the fibers in the carpet. Cohesion is the property that allows water molecules to stick together. Together, these properties allow water to travel through porous materials like the carpet by capillary action, which is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of external forces like gravity. Therefore, the dampness of the basement carpeting can be attributed to the adhesion and cohesion of water molecules.

You Walk Down into Your Basement Only to Find That