Why Does Paper Tear Easily?

 

Paper may look smooth and solid but it is not. If you could see it magnified, you would see that it is made of many tiny fibers and pushed together. If you pull on the paper, the fibers easily come apart and the paper tears.

Paper is made by beating wood and rags with water to make a pulp and then spreading out the pulp into a thin layer and drying it. A certain amount of glue may be added to the pulp to help the paper fibers stick together. But little glue is added when making newspapers or paper tissues.

The Paper fibers are held loosely together and this kind of paper tear more easily.

The kind of paper that is used to make book pages contains more glue and it doesn't tear more easily.

Cardboard(Paperboard) is a thick kind of paper containing strong glue and is difficult to tear it.

Soaking Paper in water may dissolve the glue so that it tears very easily.