The surface dynamic behavior of polymers cannot be predicted from bulk measurements, so a physical model is needed for describing the polymer surface dynamic behavior. By applying Young’s equation, energy state concept, wetting kinetics, and adsorption theory, a simple hydrophilic/hydrophobic adsorption lattice (HHAL) model was developed to quantitatively correlate contact angle measurements to polymer surface dynamic behavior. The generality of the HHAL model is explored in two parts. This is part 1 of the paper, which primarily concentrates on the change of contact angle as a function of polymer surface properties. Part 2 will concentrate on the change of contact angle as a function of the solution concentration. In this paper, theoretical predictions of contact angles as a function of time or polymer surface functionality were compared with experimental data chosen from the literature. Fitting experimental data with the model indicates that the polymer surface dynamic behavior can be characterized by the HHAL model. The possible applications of this model are discussed.