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Name __________________________________ Subject ____________

Date _____________ Class ______________
Water Density and Stability Lab Worksheet
Materials:
 clear tap water·
 tap water dyed with blue food coloring
 clear very salty water
 very salty water dyed with green food coloring
 two 150ml beakers
 two medicine droppers

Activity:
Part I
1. Fill one beaker 3/4 full with clear tap water.
2. Fill one medicine dropper with very salty green water.
3. Place one drop of very salty green water into the cup with clear water.
4. Record your observations here
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Part II
1. Fill one beaker 3/4 full with clear salt water.
2. Fill the other medicine dropper with blue tap water
3. Place one drop of blue tap water into the cup with clear water.
4. Record your observations here.
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Part III Honors extention (plus 10 point for CP)
 1 large clear bowl (plastic, Pyrex, glass)
 slightly salty water dyed with red food coloring
 stirring rod

1. Fill the clear bowl half full with very salty green water.
2. Pour clear tap water very slowly into 1/4 of the bowl on top of very salty
green water. Try not to create turbulence and have the two liquids mix.
3. Record your observations here.
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4. Make sure the dropper is clean; fill the dropper with slightly salty red water.
5. Place the dropper into the layer of very salty green water and squeeze a drop
of slightly salty red water out.
6. Record your observations here.
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7. Take the same dropper of slightly salty red water and place it into the layer
of clear tap water and squeeze out a drop of slightly salty red water.
8. Record your observations here.
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9. Using the stirring rod, mix the layered water system together.
10.Record your observations here.
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Questions:
1. What happened to the drop of very salty green water in the tap water? Why?
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2. What happened to the drop of blue tap water in the salty water? Why?
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3. Why did the tap and very salty green water not mix together?
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Research Questions: these questions will take some reading at the library
or on the internet.
4. How do oceanographers measure the different densities out in the open
ocean?
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5. Why is this information important?
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6. Who would this information be important to?
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