Question

What affect will adding sugar have on the viscosity of water?

Answer 1

I think we can consider viscosity (resistance to flow) to be related to the forces holding the molecules of the liquid together. A more viscous fluid likely has stronger intermolecular forces.

So then - to determine what happens to viscosity, we need to determine the effect on the intermolecular forces due to the addition of sugar. You may recall from chemistry that addition of a solute raises the boiling point of a fluid - this is indicative of greater intermolecular forces.

So - we can say that adding sugar increases the intermolecular forces, raising water's viscosity.

Consider, for example, the very viscous example of honey - what is honey other than a supersaturated solution of sugar?

As a caveat - this is by no means a formal proof or answer; just the application of a bit of logic.

Answer 2

it increases mass in same volume, therefore density(viscosity) increases
hope this help ^_^

Answer 3

@zhangyan @kma230 Thanks so much for the explanations guys, it helped a lot :)

Answer 4

welcome

Answer 5

it makes sugar water!:)