What property of water allows objects to "float" on the surface of water (like a paperclip or spider)?

Question

What property of water allows objects to "float" on the surface of water (like a paperclip or spider)?

Answer 1

Water (H2O) is a compound that consists of two hydrogen bonds covalently bonded to one oxygen atom. 

Each hydrogen shares a pair of electrons with the oxygen. The oxygen has a stronger pull for the electrons than the hydrogens, so it pulls the electrons closer. This makes the oxygen ‘slightly negative’ and the hyrdogens ‘slightly positive’. The slight negative charge on the oxygen atom makes it attract the slightly positive hydrogen of a different water molecule, forming hydrogen bonds. The numerous hydrogen bonds give water a very stable structure, and cohesive behavior. Surface tension is a measure of the force necessary to stretch or break the surface of a liquid. It is related to cohesion. Water has a greater surface tension than most other liquids because hydrogen bonds among surface water molecules resist stretching or breaking.