Deep Look: Why Does Your Cat's Tongue Feel Like Sandpaper?

Discussion

For cats, staying clean is a matter of life and death. And their tongue, specially equipped for the job, is just one of the things that makes cats such successful predators. As a result of their large mouths that cannot create a tight seal, they have to drink in a unique way. The water sticks to both the tip of a cat's tongue (adhesion) and itself (cohesion). Choose a property of water from the list below, and describe how it's important to your life.

Cohesion: water molecules are attracted to other water molecules
Adhesion: water molecules are attracted to other molecules
High specific heat capacity: it takes a lot of energy to raise the temperature of water
High heat of vaporization: it takes a lot of energy to turn liquid water into water vapor
Excellent solvent: water has the ability to dissolve many substances
Less dense as solid than liquid: ice floats on water

Make & Share

Draw a cartoon that illustrates a property of water.