Report Copyright Infringement View in OSM UK

Description

The Chemistry and Biology of Colour Session (STEM)

Resources

Activity 1:
- Plastic water bottle
- Vegetable oil
- Effervescent (fizzy) vitamin C tablets (like Alka‐Seltzer)
- Liquid food colouring
- Glitter (optional)

Activity 2:
- Small amount of milk
- 3 different colours of liquid food colouring
- Liquid dish soap
- Cotton buds
- Small tray / pan / plate / shallow bowl

Instructions

Introduction / Icebreakers
Introduce ourselves, where is everyone from, what they like about science - has anyone done any experiments before etc.
Run a whiteboard session on Zoom, allowing participants to write answers on the white board (if this is allowed).

Activity 1
Lava lamp in a bottle.
Add food colouring to a plastic water bottle, which is half-filled with water. Add vegetable oil until the bottle is ¾ full. Wait for the liquids to fully separate - oil floats on water. Add some glitter (optional). Break up one of the effervescent tablets and drop it into the bottle, a lava lamp occurs in the bottle.

Activity 2
Magic milk.
Pour a thin layer of milk into a shallow pan. Add drops of food colouring around in the milk. Dip a cotton bud in dish soap, then put the cotton swab in the milk, pressing it down in one spot and holding it there for about 15 seconds. Repeat this at different places in the milk, a marble effect occurs.

Debrief/Discussion
Talk about how and why these two things happen when different solutions are added together.
Activity 1: This can be linked to density of liquids - with oil floating on water as it is lighter, or less dense.
Activity 2: Milk is made up of minerals, proteins and fats, and these break up as the dish soap enters the milk,
forming a marble pattern to occur.

Tags

• colour
• COVID 19
• Octagon 2021
• Social distanced activity
• STEM
• Zoom

Badge Links

This activity doesn't complete any badge requirements