When considering the viscosity of a liquid such as pure maple syrup, which has a high sugar content (70% sucrose), it is important to understand how temperature affects this property.
Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's resistance to flow. The more viscous a fluid, the thicker and more resistant to flow it is. Commonly, pure maple syrup at room temperature is quite viscous.
Now, evaluate the effect of heating on viscosity:
1. Temperature and Molecular Movement: When a liquid is heated, the thermal energy increases the kinetic energy of its molecules. This makes the molecules move faster and with greater energy.
2. Intermolecular Forces: In liquids, molecules are held together by intermolecular forces. Heating a liquid weakens these forces because the molecules move more vigorously and spread apart slightly. Consequently, the resistance to flow (viscosity) decreases.
3. Practical Observation: In everyday experience, warming up substances like oils, syrups, or honey makes them flow more easily. This is because their viscosity decreases with increased temperature.
4. Specific Case of Maple Syrup: For pure maple syrup, heating will cause the sucrose molecules and water to move more freely, thereby reducing the syrup's overall resistance to flow.
So, based on these principles, if you heat maple syrup, its viscosity will decrease.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
It will decrease.
