Lava Lamps


Aim: To see if water & oil can mix

Equipment: Plastic Bottle, Vegetable oil, food colouring, salt, water

Method:
1 Fill your bottle just over half full with water and add a good few drops of food colouring.
2 Pour 50ml of vegetable oil into the cup. It will soon settle out to form a layer on top!
3 Pour in 1 tbsp of salt on into your cup.

Result: The oil stays at the top of the water. When you shake the bottle you will see the how the water molecules float through the oil.

Conclusion: The oil will settle out to form a layer on top of the water because it is lighter (less dense) so it floats on top.

When you add salt it becomes heavier (more dense) so it sinks through the oil and water pulling some of the vegetable oil down with it.
Next, the salt will start to dissolve into the water. This will free up the oil and as it’s lighter (less dense) it will rise back up to float back on top of the water.

Oil and water don’t mix (scientists like to say that oil is hydrophobic – almost meaning scared of water!) and so the oil stays together as a blob as it rises through the water – giving you lava!


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