STEAM with
Ms. Amy
đź’¦ May 18: STEAM: Water đź’§
Dissolving Substances in Water
Which substances do you predict will dissolve in water? You’ll know it has dissolved when you can no longer see the substance. If you pour and stir some sugar into a container of water, do you think it will disappear? What about salt or flour? Gelatin or pepper? Can you think of another substance you can try?
For this experiment you will need: your substances you want to try, clear jars, warm or hot water and a spoon to stir. Add 1 tablespoon of the substance to an empty jar and then add 1 cup of warm water. Stir and wait 1 minute. Next observe the container. Did the substance dissolve? Was your prediction correct? Why do some substances dissolve and some don’t? When the solid dissolves in the liquid, it creates a solution or homogeneous mixture. For further exploration: Try this experiment with cold water and see if there are any differences. Dissolving Solids
Stacking Liquids
For this project you will need: Syrup, Water, Cooking Oil, Rubbing Alcohol, Dish Soap, Large Tall Jar, Food Coloring
What do you predict will happen when you slowly add the liquids one at a time to the jar? Will they mix together? In order to “stack” the liquids or make layers instead of having the liquids mix - you need to determine what liquid is the heaviest and add that to the jar first. Add the liquids to the jar in this order - first put in the heaviest - which is the syrup. then add the dish soap, water with food coloring added, oil, and last rubbing alcohol if available.
Wait 1 minute and then add a few drops of food coloring (use a different color than you used with the water). What happened with the food coloring?
What do you observe? Was your prediction correct? Did the liquids mix?
Why did they not mix? Some liquids weigh more than others. In some liquids, the atoms and molecules are packed together more tightly - which means it is denser or heavier liquid like the syrup! The thicker the liquid, the more dense it is - or the more it weighs. These different liquids will always separate because they are not the same density. If you want to try another activity on density, watch this video. Explore Density Further exploration: What happens if you add an ice cube, corn syrup or honey? Liquid Density
Liquid Marble Races
Can you race marbles in jars filled with different liquids? This is a density marble race! Using glass jars and liquids such as syrup, rubbing alcohol (if available), water, vegetable oil, or shampoo, you will race the marbles. Which liquid is the most dense - weighs the most? Which marble do you think will take the longest to reach the bottom of your jar? Which marble was the fastest? What liquid was it in? The more dense the liquid is - the longer it took for the marble to reach the bottom of the jar. Further exploration: You can weigh the jars of liquid and based on how heavy they are - make a prediction as to which would take the longest for the marble to reach the bottom of the jar. Marble races
Can you make a waterfall?
Can you make your own waterfall with recycled containers?
In this project you will attach containers to a fence or gate and set your containers so they make a waterfall.
How many containers did you use? Does your water flow fast or slow? How can you make the water come out faster or slower? What happens to the water flow if you leave the lids on your container with some holes punched in them? What happens if you take the lids off? What happens if you adjust the angle of your containers? Plastic Container Waterfall
Water and Legos
Could you build a lego structure that holds water? Could you build a pool out of legos? A fountain? A waterfall? After you built your structure, pour some water into it. Does it work? What does the water do? Share your photos with Ms. Laurel! Lego Challenge with water
Magic Leak Proof Bag
What do you predict will happen if you poke some pencils into a bag filled with water? How many pencils do you predict you can poke thru?
Fill your ziplock bag with water and seal tightly. Take a sharpened pencil and poke it through the bag! Don’t hesitate or you may find it will leak a bit. Also, make sure not to push the pencil through the other side of the bag.
What happened? Did the bag leak? Try it again! How many pencils can you put through the bag?
Why does the water not leak out? The plastic bag is made up of polymer chains of molecules. When the sharpened pencil pushes through the plastic bag, it’s actually pushing through the polymer chain. The chains are pushed aside by the pointy pencil but then they re-seal themselves around the pencil preventing water from leaking out.
Further exploration: What happens when you pull the pencils out? What happens when you try to push a dull pencil through the bag? Share your photos with Ms. Laurel! Leak Proof Pencil Bag
Music with Water
Tap an empty glass jars with a bamboo skewer. What do you think will happen to the sound of the jars if you add water? Will the sound be higher or lower with more water? Fill 4-5 containers with different levels of water. What did you notice about the amounts of water versus the sound that was created? More water equals lower sound and less water equals a higher sound. Sound waves are vibrations that travel through the medium which in this case is water.
When you change the amount of water in the jars, you also change the sound waves. Further exploration: Does tapping the sides of the jars instead of the tops change the sound? What if you used a different liquid? How does that change the sounds? Different liquids have different densities and the sound waves will travel differently through them. Try using different tools for tapping the glasses. Can you tell the difference between a wood chopstick and a metal butter knife? Send a video to Ms. Laurel! Water Xylophone Further Exploration: Could you try playing a song with the jars? Watch this video of a child playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” with her dad. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Water and Sugar Experiment
This experiment takes a week to do with an adult! In this experiment you will need: 1 cup of water, 4 cups of Sugar, Mason jars, String, Food coloring, Straws or Pencils. Cut a piece of string a little longer than your jars. Tie one end of the string to a straw or pencil. Tie a knot in the other end. Get the strings wet and coat them in sugar. Let them dry overnight. The next day add 4 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water to a saucepan and heat until boiling. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Keep the temperature right at 210 degrees so it doesn’t turn into candy. Remove from heat and pour your sugar mixture into the jars. Add food coloring. Lower the string into the jar and place the jars in a safe place. Let the sugar crystals form for at least a week. Remove the crystals from the jars when they are as big as you want them. Lay them on a paper towel or plate and let them dry for several hours.
When the sugar crystals are dry, inspect them with a magnifying glass if available. How are the crystals similar? How are they different? What can you see in the magnifying glass that you can’t see with your eyes? Why do crystals form on the string? When you boiled the sugar and water, you created a saturated solution - it contained more sugar than could be dissolved in water. Because of this, when poured in the jar, the sugar molecules have a higher chance of bumping into one another because there is less space to move around. When this happens, the sugar molecules start sticking together. When you give the sugar molecules something to cling to (the string), they form into crystals faster. The more molecules bump into each other, the bigger the sugar crystals get. The bigger the crystals are, the more they pull other sugar molecules toward them, making even bigger crystals. Grow Sugar Crystals
Exploring Colors with Skittles
Watch this video of my daughter and I making pictures with skittles.
Can you make a pattern with Skittles on a plate? What pattern or design did you make? Gently pour water in the middle of the plate until it reaches all the candies and just barely covers them. What happens when you add the water? Do the colors mix? Further exploration: Try this experiment with different liquids. Does this change the results? What about if you used different candy, like gumdrops? Skittles and Water
