Question

explain why the meniscus ot water in glass is curved downward but that of mercury is curved upward

Answer 1

A concave meniscus, which is what you normally will see, occurs when the molecules of the liquid are attracted to those of the container. This occurs with water and a glass tube. A convex meniscus occurs when the molecules have a stronger attraction to each other than to the container, as with mercury and glass.

Answer 2

Because angle of contact of mercury is greater than that of water and in water, cohesive forces are stronger while in mercury, adhesive forces are stronger