Certificate

This is to certify that roll

number ………………… has
completed the project entitled
effect of acid and base on
tensile strength of fibres
under my supervision in the time
stipulated by CBSE .

Mrs. Anjali Chhibber

[PGT BIOLOGY ]
Effect Acid & Base on Tensile Strength of
Strength of Fibres
Objective
Effects of Acids & Base on the Tensile Strength of
Fibres"

 Compare the tensile strength of given samples of

polyester , silk, nylon and cotton fibres.
 (ii) To investigate the Effect of Acid and base on
the tensile strength of fibres.
 Introduction
Depending upon the sources, the various types of fibres
can be classified into the following three main categories :
(i) Animal fibres e.g. Wool & Silk.
(ii) Vegetable Fibres e.g. Cotton & Linen.
(iii) Synthetic Fibres e.g. Nylon & Polyester.

Besides their chemical composition and properties, most

important property of these fibres is their tensile
strength. Tensile strength mean the extent to which a fibre
can be stretched without breaking and it is measured in
terms of minimum weight required to break the fibre. To
determine the tensile strength of any fibre, it is tied to a
hook at one end and weighted are slowly added to the
other end until the fibre break.

Since peptide bonds are more easily hydrolyzed by bases

than acids therefore cotton and silk are affected by basis
not by acids. It is because of this reason that wool and silk
threads breakup into fragments and ultimately dissolve in
alkalines.

In other words alkalines decreases the tensile strength of

animal fibres (wool & silk). Vegetable fibres (cotton &
linen), on the other hand, consist of long polysaccharide
chains in which the various glucose units are joined by
ethers linkage. Since ethers are hydrolised by acids and
not by bases therefore, vegetable fibres are affected by
acids but not by bases. In other words acids
decreases the tensile strength of vegetable
fibres. In contrast, synthetics fibres such as
nylon & polyester practically remains unaffected
by both acids and bases.

Experiment-1
Requirement
(a), Apparatus : Hook Weight hanger and weights.

(b) Materials : Cotton, Silk, Poyester and Nylon fibres.

Procedure
Cut out equal lengths of a cotton fibre, nylon fibre
,polyester fibre and silk fibre from the given sample of
nearly same diameter
Tie one end of cotton fibre to a hook which has been
fixed in a vertical plane. Tie a weight hanger to the
other end. The thread get straight.
Put a weight to the hanger and observe the thread
stretch. Then, increase the weights gradually on the
hanger until the breaking point reaches and note the
minimum weight needed for breaking the cotton fibre.
Repeat the above experiment by tying nylon and silk
fibres to the hook separately

Observation.

Sr.No. Type of Minimum

Fibre Weight
1. Cotton 975 g.
2. Nylon 1275 g.
 3. Silk 775g.
4. 3900g.
Polyester

Precautions
Threads must be of identical diameter.
Always take the same length of the threads.
Add the weights in small amounts very slowly.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to our

principal Mrs. Nishi Manglik ma’am who
gave me the opportunity to do this project on
the topic “effect of acid or base on the tensile
strength of fibres“ . I also thank my biology
teacher Mrs. Anjali Chhibber ma’am for
encouraging and guiding me in the project . I
thank our laboratory assistant Mr. G.D Pandey
 Sir who helped me with the setup for the
project and gave valuable practical insights.
Without thanking my parents for their support ,
this acknowledgment would be incomplete.
I am really thankful to all of them .

Experiment - 2 [Acid and Base]

Requirements :
 Apparatus : Hook, Weight Hanger and Weights.

Materials and Chemicals : silk, polyester, Cotton

and Nylon Fibres, dilute solution of hydrochloric
acid and sodium hydroxide.

Procedure
Cut out equal lengths of silk, cotton and nylon threads
from given sample of nearly same diameter.
Determine the tensile strength of each fibre as
explained in experiment-1.
Soak the cotton thread in a dilute solution of sodium
hydroxide for five minutes. Take it out from hydroxide
solution and wash it thoroughly with water and then
dry either by keeping it in the sun or dark.
Tie one end of cotton fibre to a hook which has been
fixed in a vertical plane. Tie a weight hanger to the
other end. The thread get straight.
Put a weight to the hanger and observe the thread
stretch. Then, increase the weights gradually on the
hanger until the breaking point reaches and note the
minimum weight needed for breaking the cotton fibre.

Now take another piece of cotton thread of the same

size and diameter and soak it in a dilute solution of
hydrochloric acid for five minutes. Take it out, wash
thoroughly with water, dry and determine the tensile
strength again.
Repeat the above procedure for the samples of silk ,
polyester and nylon fibre.
 Observation

S Type of Wt. Wt. Wt.Required to

NO. Required Required break the fibre
to break to break after soaking in
the the fibre dilute acid
untreated after
fibre soaking in
dilute
alkali
1. Silk 950 g. 900 g. 950 g.
Cotton 775 g. 775 g. 650 g.
2.
Nylon 1275 g. 1275 1275 g.
3. g.
4. 3900g. 3870g. 3880g.
Polyester

Result
 The tensile strength of silk fibre decreases on
soaking in alkalie but practically remains
unaffected on soaking in acid.
The tensile strength of cotton fibre decreases on
soaking in acid but remains practically unaffected
on soaking in alkalie.
The tensile strength of nylon fibre remain
practically unaffected on soaking either in acid or
in alkalie.
The tensile strength of polyester fibre decreases
on soaking in alkalie and acid.

Precautions
Threads must be of identical diameter.
Always take the same length of the threads.
Add the weights in small amounts very slowly.

Facts related to fibres

Flax is the earliest known natural textile fabric seen used in about 5000
BC. Flax is the material used to make linen which is seeing a huge
come back today in drapery and upholstery.
There is evidence that cotton and wool were used to create natural
fabrics in about 3000 BC and evidence of silk use in 2500 BC in China.
China is still the largest maker and exporter of silk in the world and has
been for 100’s of years.
The earliest evidence of fabric textiles has been found in Turkey, Egypt
and Israel.
The creation of man-made fibres has only been within the last 100
years. Rayon, was the first man-made fibre created in 1910 and it was
called ‘artificial silk’. Viscose is the most common form of Rayon.
Microfibre or Ultrasuede was invented over 20 years ago in
Japan. Microfibre is the thinnest of all man-made fibres, even finer
than silk. it is 100 times finer than a human hair.
Acrylic is a man-made fibre that has a soft, wool-like hand, is machine
washable and has excellent colour retention. It is often an additive to
textiles to take advantage of these properties.

8) Nylon is also man-made and was first

produced in 1938. It has high strength, excellent resilience and
superior abrasion resistence. Nylon replaced silk stockings for women
in the early part of the 20th century.
The highest quality cotton still comes from Eqypt.
Bamboo is a grass that has been used to create a fabric that hangs
much like a heavy linen. Interestly it has natural wicking ability that
pulls moisture away from the skin so it can be useful in reducing
moisture related ordour. It also has natural anti-baterial
qualities. And it is sustainable as bamboo grows quickly and doesn’t
need pestisides to thrive.
\

Biology investigatory project

Effect of acid and base on the

tensile strength of fibres
Submitted by :
Shirish Singh
XII A
Roll no.
 Silk
Nylon

Polyester
Cotton
polyester