Density

The Amazing Water Trick

Materials:

 Two identical small, wide-mouthed jars (baby food jars are perfect)
 Hot water
 Cold water
 Food coloring
 Index cards or squares of waxed paper
 Scissors
 A large, shallow baking pan (if you don't have one, do this activity in the sink--it
can be messy)

Procedure:

1. Fill one of the jars with very hot tap water. Add a drop of red food coloring. What
happens to the drop? Watch for a minute, then put the red jar into the baking
pan.
2. Fill the other jar with cold water. Add a drop of blue food coloring. What happens
to that drop?
3. Cut about 2 inches off one short side of the index card. You should end up with a
square about 3 inches on a side
4. Slowly add more water to the blue jar until you can see a bulge of water over the
rim of the jar.
5. Lay the square card carefully onto the top of the blue jar. Tap the card gently with
your finger. (Don't poke it. You want the card to be flat and form a seal with the
water and the jar.)
6. This part is very tricky. You may want to practice it a few times over the sink with
a jar of plain water. Pick up the blue jar and turn it straight upside-down. You
don't need to put your hand on the card. The water will hold the card in place.
(Just flip the jar over. Don't hesitate. If the jar is tilted but not turned over
completely, the water will gush out and make a mess.)
7. Put the upside-down blue jar right on top of the red jar.
8. Have someone hold onto both jars while you very slowly and carefully pull the
card out.
9. What happens? What color is the water in the top jar? What color is the water in
the bottom jar?
10. Empty both jars. Rinse them. Repeat steps 1 through 6--but put the jar with the
blue-colored cold water in the baking pan and put the card on top of the jar with
the red-colored hot water. Turn the red jar upside-down and put it on top of the
blue jar.
11. Slowly pull out the index card. What happens? What color is the water in the top
jar? What color is the water in the bottom jar?
Why does the water mix so quickly when the glass of hot water is on the bottom?

If you've already made a Salt Volcano or a Glitter Globe, you probably know that some
liquids float on top of other liquids. Oil floats on water. Alcohol floats on oil. That's
because these liquids have different densities. Whenever you put together two liquids
that don't mix, the liquid that is less dense will float on top of the denser liquid. A drop of
oil weighs less than a drop of water the same size. The oil is less dense than the water,
so it rises to the top.

When you heat up water, the water molecules start moving around faster and faster.
They bounce off each other and move farther apart. Because there's more space
between the molecules, a volume of hot water has fewer molecules in it and weighs a
little bit less than the same volume of cold water. So hot water is less dense than cold
water. When you put the two together with the hot water on the bottom, the hot water
rises to the top, mixing with the cold water along the way and creating purple water.

Why doesn't the water mix when the hot water is on top?
When the cold water is on the bottom, the hot water doesn't have to rise--it's already on
top. The cold blue water stays on the bottom and the hot red water stays on top.

BLOBS IN A BOTTLE

You will need

 A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle

 3/4 cup of water
 Vegetable Oil
 Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer)
 Food coloring

What to do

1. Pour the water into the bottle.

2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the
vegetable oil into the bottle until it’s almost full. You may have to
wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.
3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but
any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and
then mix with the water below.
4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into
the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby
greatness begin!
5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For
a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of
the bottle.
How does it work?

To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or, more
specifically, less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something
called “intermolecular polarity.” That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation.
Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water
molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to
magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil
molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not
allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to
describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that
vinegrette salad dessing in a whole new way.

When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started dissolving and
creating a gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with them.
When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water.
Cool, huh? By the way, you can store your “Blobs In A Bottle” with the cap on, and then
anytime you want to bring it back to life, just add another tablet piece.

HAND SANITIZER FIRE MATERIALS

Be sure your hand sanitizer lists ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol as the active ingredient. Other
chemicals may not work or they may burn too hot.

 hand sanitizer gel

 lighter or match

INSTRUCTIONS
1. On a fire-proof surface, make a pattern using the gel.
2. Ignite the edge of the gel. The flame will spread.

1. If you like, you can touch the flame. Be careful! Although the hand sanitizer flame is relatively
cool, it is still fire and it can burn you.

COLORED FIRE

You can mix colorants into the hand sanitizer gel to produce a colored flame. Boric
acid or borax (found in cleaners and pest control products) will produce a green
flame. Potassium chloride (lite salt) will give you a purple flame.

You can create cool special effects by applying the burning gel to other surfaces. For
example, coating a metal object will form a halo of flame around it, which makes a great
effect for photos. If you choose to coat a flammable object (e.g. a stuffed animal or a
cardboard shape), first soak it in water. While this won't completely protect flammable
matter from damage, it will keep it from busting into flame.
Watch the video of this project.

HOW TO PUT OUT THE FIRE

Because hand sanitizer is a mixture of water and alcohol, once some of the alcohol
burns, the water puts the fire out on its own.

How quickly this happens depends on the specific product you're using, but it's usually
around 10 seconds. If you want to put out the flames before that, you can simply blow
them out, like a candle. It's also safe to douse the flame with water or suffocate it by
covering with the lid of a pot.

ABOUT HAND SANITIZER FIRE

Hand sanitizer has applications beyond killing germs.

Gels that contain ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol produce a relatively cool flame that is
made more manageable by the high percentage of water in the product. You use the gel
to draw with fire or for projects in which you need to hold fire. Keep in mind, the flame is
still hot enough to burn you if you hold it too long and can ignite paper, fabrics, etc. Use
care to perform this project in a safe location, away from flammable material. As with
any fire project, it's a good idea to have a fire extinguisher or at least a glass of water
handy.

Hand sanitizer fire is an adult-only project.

Dancing Colors

Materials:

 Milk (whole or 2%)

 Dinner plate
 Food coloring (red, yellow, green, blue)
 Dish-washing soap (Dawn brand works well)
 Cotton swabs

1. Pour enough milk in the dinner plate to completely cover the bottom to the depth
of about 1/4 inch. Allow the milk to settle before moving on to the next step.
2. Add one drop of each of the four colors of food coloring—red, yellow, green, and
blue—to the milk. Keep the drops close together in the center of the plate of milk.
3. Find a clean cotton swab for the next part of the experiment. Predict what will
happen when you touch the tip of the cotton swab to the center of the milk. It’s
important not to stir the mix—just touch it with the tip of the cotton swab. Go
ahead and try it.
 4. Now place a drop of liquid dish soap on the other end of the cotton swab. Place
the soapy end of the cotton swab back in the middle of the milk and hold it there
for 10 to 15 seconds. Look at that burst of color! It’s like the Fourth of July in a
plate of milk.
5. Add another drop of soap to the tip of the cotton swab and try it again.
Experiment with placing the cotton swab at different places in the milk. Notice
that the colors in the milk continue to move even when the cotton swab is
removed. What makes the food coloring in the milk move?

How Does It Work

Milk is mostly water, but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of
fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding
solution (the milk).

The secret of the bursting colors is in the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Like other
oils, milk fat is a non-polar molecule and that means it doesn’t dissolve in water. When
soap is mixed in, however, the non-polar (hydrophobic) portion of micelles (molecular
soap structures in solution) break up and collect the non-polar fat molecules.Then the
polar surface of the micelle (hydrophilic) connects to a polar water molecule with the fat
held inside the soap micelle. Thanks to the soap connection, literally, the non-polar fat
can then be carried by the polar water. This is when the fun begins.

The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules
race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this fat molecule gymnastics,
the food coloring molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy
way to observe all the invisible activity. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the
milk, the action slows down and eventually stops. This is why milk with a higher fat
content produces a better explosion of color—there’s just more fat to combine with all of
those soap molecules.

Try adding another drop of soap to see if there’s any more movement. If so, you
discovered there are still more fat molecules that haven’t found a partner at the big color
dance. Add another drop of soap to start the process again.

Burning Money

 70% rubbing alcohol (read the labels in the store to determine the alcohol
content)
 Water
 Tongs
 Lighter or match
 Safety glasses
 Fire extinguisher
 1. Start by preparing a water-alcohol mixture by combining 3 ounces (90 mL) of
70% rubbing alcohol with 1 ounce (30 mL) of water. Make sure to stir the mixture
thoroughly.
2. Rule #1: Never use your own money. Borrow a $20 bill from your friend. If you
can get away with this, you have incredible skills of persuasion. Otherwise,
cough up your own money.
3. Dip the bill into the mixture of water and rubbing alcohol using the tongs, and
make sure the bill gets completely soaked.
4. Remove the bill using the tongs and gently shake off any excess liquid.
5. Move the water-alcohol mixture to a safe place (away from the area where you
are going to light the bill on fire).
6. Hold one end of the bill with tongs and light the bottom of the bill with a lighter.
The bill will look like it’s burning, but it shouldn’t burn (famous last words). When
the flame is completely extinguished, it’s safe to touch the money. You’ll find that
the money is even cool to the touch.

How Does It Work

By now you’ve probably guessed that the money will actually burn if you dip it into a
pure alcohol solution. The secret, of course, is the addition of water to the mixture. The
water from the water-alcohol mixture evaporates and absorbs much of the heat energy
that is generated when you ignite the bill. The water is first heated to its boiling point
and then vaporized by the heat of combustion from the burning alcohol. The
evaporation of the water keeps the temperature below the ignition temperature of paper,
which is 233oC or 451oF. If you read Fahrenheit 451, a novel by Ray Bradbury about
book burning, you will recognize this famous temperature. If you reduce the amount of
water in the mixture, the paper money is likely to char or even catch on fire.

Make Slime with Glue and Borax

You will need

 Elmer’s glue (most kinds of white craft glue will work)

 2 disposable cups
 Food coloring (you pick the color)
 Water
 Borax Powder (available at most large grocery stores near the laundry detergent)
 A plastic spoon (for stirring)
 A tablespoon (for measuring)

What to do

1. Fill one small cup with water and add a spoonful of the Borax powder and stir it
up. Then set it aside.
2. Fill the other small cup with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the glue.
 3. Add three tablespoons (20 ml) of water to the glue and stir.
4. Add a few drops of the food coloring and stir it up until mixed.
5. Now the fun part…Add one tablespoons of the Borax solution you made earlier
and stir well. Watch the slime form!
6. After the slime forms let it sit for about 30 seconds and then pull it off the spoon
and play with it!

Tip: Keep your slime in a tightly closed plastic bag when you are not playing with it, and
keep it away from carpet and your little sister’s hair.

How does it work?

Now for the SCIENCE part…. This POLYMER is unique because it has qualities of both
a solid and a liquid. It can take the shape of its containers like a liquid does, yet you can
hold it in your hand and pick it up like a solid. As you might know, solid molecules are
tight together, liquid molecules spread out and break apart (drops) POLYMER
molecules CHAIN themselves together (they can stretch and bend like chains) and that
makes them special. Jell-O, rubber bands, plastic soda bottles, sneaker soles, even
gum are all forms of polymers. The polymer you made should be kept in a sealed plastic
bag when you aren’t playing with it. Also, be sure to keep it away from young kids or
pets who might think it’s food. Have fun!

Build A Fizz Inflator

You will need

 One small empty plastic soda or water bottle

 1/2 cup of vinegar
 Small balloon
 Baking soda
 Funnel or piece of paper

What to do

1. Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle.

2. This is the tricky part: Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then
use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with baking soda. If you don’t have
a funnel you can make one using the paper and some tape.
3. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle
without letting any baking soda into the bottle.
4. Ready? Lift the balloon up so that the baking soda falls from the balloon into the
bottle and mixes with the vinegar. Watch the fizz-inflator at work!
How does it work?

The baking soda and the vinegar create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals
work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide) Gasses need a lot of room to spread out
and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle, and then moves into the balloon to inflate
it.