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Description

Fireworks in a glass

A simple STEM experiment that younger girls can do at home to learn about water density

Suitable for GGNZ Virtual Group Guiding

Resources

Each girl will need:

Food colouring ( as many as they have available)
Warm water
Oil (vegetable, olive, peanut – any will work)
2 drinking glasses
1 fork

Instructions

1. Fill 1 glass 3/4 of the way to the top with warm water
2. In a separate glass, add a few table spoons of oil and add 4 drops of food colouring of differing colours
3. Use a fork to give the oil and food colouring a good mix to break up the ‘colour beads’ into smaller ones
4. Carefully pour the oil & food colouring mixture into the glass of warm water and watch what happens

The science/ why does this happen?

Food coloring dissolves in water, but not in oil. When you stir the food coloring in the oil, you are breaking up the coloring droplets (though drops that come into contact with each other will merge… blue + red = purple).

Oil is less dense than water, so the oil will float at the top of the glass. As the colored drops sink to the bottom of the oil, they mix with the water. The colour diffuses outwards as the heavier colored drop falls to the bottom.

Tags

• fireworks
• GGNZ
• GGNZ Virtual Guiding
• GGNZ Virtual Unit
• STEM
• virtual
• Virtual Group Guiding

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