Surface tension

Hey kiddo, have you ever seen a little bug walking on water? How is that possible? It all comes down to something we call surface tension!

Imagine you are in a swimming pool and you try to push a ball underwater. The ball will quickly float back up to the surface because the water is pushing back against it, making it difficult to push below the surface. This is because of something called surface tension, which is the force on the surface of a liquid that keeps it from breaking apart.

Surface tension happens because water molecules like to stick together. They form a sort of "skin" on the top of the water, which is stronger than you might think. Think of it like the skin on a bubble – it's stretchy and can hold a lot of air inside.

This surface tension is what allows small creatures like bugs to walk on water. Their tiny little legs can't break through the surface tension, so they're able to walk on the water without sinking.

So, that's the basic idea of surface tension – it's the strength of the "skin" on the top of a liquid that keeps things from breaking through.