What does viscosity mean?
Word: Viscosity
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Viscosity means how thick and sticky a liquid is, which decides how slowly it flows. Honey has a high viscosity; water has a low one.
Synonyms: thickness, stickiness
Antonyms: runniness
How do you spell viscosity?
Syllables: vis - cos - i - ty
Tricky part: Students keep the u of viscous and write viscousity, or spell the end as city.
Watch out for: viscousity, viscocity, vicosity
Memory tip: Viscous drops its u before ity, the same change that turns generous into generosity and curious into curiosity.
Viscosity in a sentence
Example 1: Honey has a higher viscosity than water, so it pours slowly.
Example 2: On cold winter mornings the viscosity of engine oil goes up.
Example 3: In the lab we timed how fast shampoo, oil and juice ran down a slope to compare their viscosity.
Fun Fact
The pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland, running since 1927, shows how huge a viscosity can be. Tar pitch looks solid, yet it flows, and only nine drops fell from its funnel between 1930 and 2014.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
v_s_osity
a) e, c
b) e, s
c) i, c
d) i, k
Show answer
c) i, c. It begins vis, and the hard sound after the s is written with a c, as in viscous.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
viscosity
a) firmness
b) density
c) heaviness
d) fluidity
Show answer
d) fluidity. Fluidity means flowing easily, the reverse of being thick and slow.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
ysotcisiv
a) velocity
b) vivacity
c) viscosity
d) curiosity
Show answer
c) viscosity. Curiosity needs r and u, velocity needs e and l, and vivacity needs a second v.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these liquids has the lowest viscosity?
a) honey
b) ketchup
c) petrol
d) condensed milk
Show answer
c) petrol
2. A paint with a very high viscosity is likely to ____.
a) drip quickly off the brush
b) soak straight into paper
c) spread thickly and slowly
d) dry the moment it lands
Show answer
c) spread thickly and slowly
