Introduction Viscosity can be described as the internal resistance against fluid free flow, arising from the attraction

between molecules of a liquid (Azar and Samuel, 2007). It can also be described as the one caused by the frictional forces between the fluid layers moving over each other at different velocities (Parkash, 1998). It is also the combination of effects of adehesion and cohesion on suspended particles and the liquid environment (Azar and Samuel, 2007). The unit of viscosity, , can be gcm-1s-1 or the poise (P) (Sun, 2004). Viscometers are used to measure the viscosity of a liquid by measuring the flow time t from a point a to another point b in the capillary length l and radius r. The most common viscometers used are the Ostwald, Fenske and Ubbelohde types, in which viscosity is measure using the Poiseuilles law (Rogers, 2011; Sun, 2004). where V is the volume of the volume of the bulb, is the density of the liquid and p is the head pressure or the pressure difference between the ends of the liquid. Assigning (Sun, 2004) and the kinetic energy correction for heat dissipation where to :

Using experimental flow times, values of A and B can be determined from the y-intercept and the negative of the slope, respectively, of the plot of against . The relationship of viscosity and temperature T may be expressed using the Eyrings equation for viscosity:

is the standard molar free where h is the Plancks constant, is the Avogadros number, energy for viscous flow and is the molar volume of the substance. The relationship of viscosity with other thermodynamic properties, the molar entropy of activation and the molar enthalpy change for flow , is then related indirectly by standard molar free energy through: In the linear relationship, the molar entropy of activation and the molar enthalpy change for flow against may be determined from the negative of the slope and the y-intercept of the plot of temperature. The mechanical properties and behaviors of polymers in different solvents may be described by viscosity parameters, which are vastly used in many polymer studies. Mark (1938) and Houwink (1940) autonomously identified the correlation between viscosity and molecular weight as expressed in the Mark-Houwink equation (Sun, 2004): [ ] [ ] where is the intrinsic viscosity, and are both constants for a given polymer-solvent pairs at a given temperature. Mark-Houwink equation is expansively applicable to many polymers and is used in molecular weight determination experiments since it describes viscosity and its association with molecular weight, which is also related to the sizes or volumes and lengths of polymer chains (Sun, 2004). This experiment was conducted (1) to determine the viscosities of aqueous solutions of 1-propanol and 2-propanol at various concentrations, (2) to evaluate thermodynamic properties of some liquids using Eyrings equation and (3) to calculate the molecular weight and root mean-square end-to-end length of sodium carboxymethylcellulose at different salt concentrations using Mark-Houwinks equation.