Water on a clean glass surface, tends to spread out, while mercury on the same surface, tends to form drops. Why?

Explanation

To understand why water spreads out on a clean glass surface while mercury forms drops, we need to analyze the concepts of adhesive and cohesive forces.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Define Adhesive and Cohesive Forces**:
- Adhesive forces are the attractive forces between different substances, such as water molecules and glass molecules.
- Cohesive forces are the attractive forces between molecules of the same substance, such as water molecules with each other.

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