Color Morphing and Color Stacking

Color Morphing Experiment

Supplies:

Vegetable oil

Food Coloring

Glass or jar of water

Oil and water do not mix. They have very different densities. But putting them together can end in some cool results. First, fill your large vase halfway with water. In a measuring cup, mix 2 tablespoons of cooking oil with 3 drops of food coloring. Add that mixture to the water. Watch what happens when the water-based food coloring moves from the oil to the water. Try this with different color combinations.

Color Stacking

Supplies:

Straw

Sugar

Food Coloring

4 glasses with warm water

This one will seem complicated. Take your time. You may need to experiment with the ratio of sugar to water to make it work. .

Set up 4 clear cups. First, add sugar to them as follows:

Cup 1= no sugar Cup 2= 1 teaspoon Cup 3= 2 teaspoons Cup 4= 3 teaspoons Cup 5= 4 teaspoons

Next add 1 Cup of warm water to each cup. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Now, in each cup, add 2 drops of different colored food coloring. Feel free to add no color to one if you like. You now have 4 different color mixtures with different mixes of sugar in them. That means they will have different densities, too, and differing densities don’t mix well. You will now proceed to “stack” your colors and make a rainbow. Take your straw and cover the top with your finger. Dip the straw into Cup 1 and release the top of the straw. This will allow water into the straw. Cover the straw and again and life the straw out. You should have a small section of water from Cup 1 in the straw. Now dip the straw deeply into Cup 2 and quickly release and cover the straw. When you pull it out, the water from the first two cups should be separated. The challenge is now to proceed to rest of the cups, always moving from less dense to more. It may take some practice, and sometimes the colors end up mixing a bit. But your goal is to have a small rainbow in the bottom of your straw with your densest color at the bottom and the least dense at the top. How did it go? Did you mess up? 

Here is another version of color stacking.  Following the same directions for the first experiment, create 4 glasses of colored sugar water.

Now, take a tall clear glass or jar and gently pour some of the heaviest water (the one with the most sugar) into the glass first.  Do the same with the other colors.  Be sure to pour it in gently, maybe even down the inside of the glass so it doesn't mix into the other color.  You can also try using a syringe or a turkey baster to put the water into the glass.

Which experiment worked best?

 

Color Stacking

Supplies:

Straw

Sugar

Food Coloring

4 glasses with warm water

This one will seem complicated. Take your time. You may need to experiment with the ratio of sugar to water to make it work. .

Set up 4 clear cups. First, add sugar to them as follows:

Cup 1= no sugar Cup 2= 1 teaspoon Cup 3= 2 teaspoons Cup 4= 3 teaspoons Cup 5= 4 teaspoons

Next add 1 Cup of warm water to each cup. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Now, in each cup, add 2 drops of different colored food coloring. Feel free to add no color to one if you like. You now have 4 different color mixtures with different mixes of sugar in them. That means they will have different densities, too, and differing densities don’t mix well. You will now proceed to “stack” your colors and make a rainbow. Take your straw and cover the top with your finger. Dip the straw into Cup 1 and release the top of the straw. This will allow water into the straw. Cover the straw and again and life the straw out. You should have a small section of water from Cup 1 in the straw. Now dip the straw deeply into Cup 2 and quickly release and cover the straw. When you pull it out, the water from the first two cups should be separated. The challenge is now to proceed to rest of the cups, always moving from less dense to more. It may take some practice, and sometimes the colors end up mixing a bit. But your goal is to have a small rainbow in the bottom of your straw with your densest color at the bottom and the least dense at the top. How did it go? Did you mess up? 

Here is another version of color stacking.  Following the same directions for the first experiment, create 4 glasses of colored sugar water.

Now, take a tall clear glass or jar and gently pour some of the heaviest water (the one with the most sugar) into the glass first.  Do the same with the other colors.  Be sure to pour it in gently, maybe even down the inside of the glass so it doesn't mix into the other color.  You can also try using a syringe or a turkey baster to put the water into the glass.

Which experiment worked best?

Water Transfer and Does It Float

Water Transfer 

Supplies needed:

1 or 2 food coloring tablets

2 or 3 glasses or jars

1 or 2 paper towels

Start by filling one glass or jar with water and dissolving one food coloring tablet in the water.

Place an empty glass or jar (they should be the same height) next to the first.  Fold and twist a paper towel  width wise.  Insert half of the paper towel into the container with water and the other half into the empty container.

Watch as the colored water begins to travel through the paper towel.

Soon, the water will have traveled all the way through the paper towel from one container to the other and it will begin to drip and fill the second container.

Now, what do you suppose would happen if you would try this experiment again, this time with three containers?  Could you transfer the water from the first container to the second and then to the third?

What if you had 2 containers filled with water, each a different color (like yellow and blue) and an empty container in between them?  What would happen?

Using more containers and different colors, how many containers and colors do you think you can do?  

The water appears to defy gravity, but in reality, it moves because of a process called capillary action. Water is able to move against the force of gravity because water molecules stick to each other AND they stick to the fibers of the paper towel. As water molecules are attracted to the fibers of the paper towel, they pull other water molecules with them.

The adhesive forces between the water and the fibers of the paper towel are stronger than the cohesive forces between the water molecules. As a result, the water travels up and across the paper towel out of one glass and into another.

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Sink or Float

Supplies Needed

3 Cups

Salt

Sugar

Three eggs

Other adult approved objects to test and see if they will sink or float.

As you set this investigation up, make predictions as to what you think will happen and whether you think the eggs will float or sink in the water. To complete the investigation, first set up three cups, half filled with water. Dissolve two tablespoons of salt in Cup 1 and two tablespoons of sugar in Cup 2. Leave Cup 3 alone. Predict whether an egg will float or sink in each cup. Cup 3 is your control, meaning you haven’t made any changes to the water. The variable- or the change is the substance you’ve dissolved in the other two cups. Put the eggs in the cups. Do salt and sugar change things?

Now remove the eggs and try the test on other objects.  So they sink or float?

Thunder Stick and Rain Stick Craft

 Thunder Stick:

Supplies needed:

3 Inch mailer tube with end cap

Spring

Markers, crayons, tape, etc. for decorating

If you wish to decorate the tube, do this first.   

Once decorating is complete, insert one end of the spring into the cap and twist the spring so about 1/2" of spring is through the cap.

Place cap onto the end of the mailer tube.

Gently shake the tube to enjoy the sound of thunder.

Experiment with the length of the spring to change the sound.

You can also experiment with changing the sound by covering the top of the mailer tube.  Use your hand or try a piece of plastic or a plastic cup.

Rain Stick:

Supplies needed:

2 Inch mailer tube with end cap

Aluminum Foil

Beans

Markers, crayons, tape, etc. for decorating

If you wish to decorate the tube, do this first. 

Then lay out the aluminum foil then crumple it widthwise.  

Now twist the foil together so it forms a tight "stick".

Twist the stick around the outside of the mailer tube to make a coil.   Remove the coiled foil stick from the mailer tube.  Twist the foil stick a little more so the coils are tight enough for the stick to be inserted into the mailer tube.

Place one end cap onto the mailer tube.

Add the beans.

Place second end cap onto the mailer tube.

Experiment with the sound of the rain stick by changing the twists of the foil.  Try making the twist more tight or more loose.  If you have them, replace the beans with different size beans, rice or popcorn.  How do these things change the sound of the rain stick?

                                       

 Paper Mache Volcano

To create the volcano, you will need:

1 cup

1 piece of cardboard that fits in the bottom of your _____ (mess makers) bin.

Flour

Water

Mixing bowl

Newspapers

 Optional Items:

Masking Tape

White School glue

Begin by centering the cup on the cardboard piece.  

Take a few pages of newspaper and twist them into donuts.  Form them around the bottom half of the cup to begin shaping the volcano.  If you need to, you can use masking tape to help hold it together.

Next, whisk about 4 oz. of flour with about 4 to 8 oz. of water.  The mixture should have a consistency that is just a little bit thinner than paint.  If you want to, you can add a little bit of school glue to the mixture, but it isn't necessary.  Just make sure you get out all the lumps.

Tear newspaper into strips, 1 to 2 inches wide.  Add only a few strips of newspaper into the flour and water mixture at a time.  Wipe off excess and begin wrapping around the volcano.

Do not be in a hurry.  This process may take a few days to complete.  Wrap a few layers and then allow it to dry overnight.  Then, add another few layers and allow it to dry.  

Once your volcano is complete, allow it to completely dry before you paint it and especially before you conduct your experiments!

For the Volcano Eruption Experiments:

First some volcano facts:

The Alaska Volcano Observatory tells us that there are 130 volcanoes in Alaska.  

Since the 1700s, some 50 volcanoes have erupted and are called active. Most active volcanoes in Alaska are found along Cook Inlet and down through the Aleutian Islands. Inactive volcanoes, those that haven't erupted for several hundred years, can be found in every region of the state.

Alaska has 80 percent of all the active volcanoes in the United States and 10 percent of those found in the world.

Fourpeaked Volcano erupted in September 2006 for the first time in 10,000 years, proving that long sleeping volcanoes can wake.

Sources:

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/ 
Alaska Almanac. Alaska Northwest Books, 2008
Alaska's Volcanoes, Alaska Geographic, Volume 18, Number 2
Alaska's Natural Wonders, Bob Armstrong and Marge Hermans, Alaska Northwest Books, 2000

Baking soda Chemical reaction:

When the chemicals are added together, it produces foaming bubbles.  What causes the bubbles?  

Baking soda has another name, it's chemical name, sodium bicarbonate.  

Vinegar is a diluted acid.

The solid baking soda was placed in liquid vinegar producing carbon dioxide gas, which is evident because of the formation of bubbles in the foaming mixture. Eventually all of the solid dissolved and reacted producing a new liquid solution.

During the reaction, a solid and liquid have been chemically reacted to form a gas and a liquid. This experiment can also be used to explain foams, as liquids or solids containing gas bubbles.

Source

https://www.primaryconnections.org.au/themes/custom/connections/assets/SBR/data/Chem/sub/baking/baking.html

there is a chemical reaction when the baking soda and vinegar are mixed.  

Elephant toothpaste reaction:

The yeast contains an enzyme called Catalase that breaks down hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) into oxygen gas and water. The oxygen gas gets trapped by the soap, and you get a large foamy solution that squirts out of the top of the bottle!

The cool thing about this activity is that the enzyme Catalase can also be found in potatoes, dogs and even us! We have the same enzyme in our bodies. That is why you see the 3% hydrogen peroxide bubble when you put it on a cut or scrape. The oxygen released is what kills the germs in the cut. We have this enzyme because we naturally produce low amounts hydrogen peroxide as a byproduct of oxidative metabolism (the way that a cell gains useful energy). Our cells need energy, but low amounts of hydrogen peroxide are produced and need to be neutralized through enzymes like Catalase.

https://www.imaginationstationtoledo.org/education-resources/diy-activities/elephant-s-toothpaste/

1. A chemical reaction is a process in which substances undergo a chemical change to form a different substance. In this reaction, the hydrogen peroxide is catalyzed by the yeast to release the oxygen molecules. The foam is oxygen-filled bubbles that result from the hydrogen peroxide being broken down into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2).

   This reaction uses yeast as a catalyst. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction. In this case, the yeast helps to separate the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide.

   In this reaction, the bottle will feel warm to the touch because it is an exothermic reaction. This means that the chemical reaction releases heat as it occurs. The opposite also demonstrates a chemical reaction. An endothermic reaction would feel cool to the touch.

https://orise.orau.gov/resources/k12/documents/lesson-plans/elephant-toothpaste.pdf

Baking soda reaction:

1 tsp of Baking soda (in a 2 oz cup)

1/2 tsp of dish soap (*in a 2 oz cup)

2 tsp of water

2 oz vinegar (in a 4 oz cup)

mix baking soda, water and dish soap together in cup.

add vinegar.

materials:

spoon

10 oz drink cup

Elephant toothpaste reaction:

1 Tablespoon dish soap (*2 oz cup)

4 oz peroxide (4 oz cup)

1 T dry yeast (2 oz cup)

3 T water.

mix water and yeast together and set aside.

mix peroxide, dish soap and water in cup

after yeast mixture has sat for at least 30 seconds, add yeast to peroxide

Baking soda reaction:

Elephant Toothpaste Reaction: