Scientific Inquiry Experiment

Table of ContentsPage 1 My Experiment ( The Name) Materials

Page 2 Step 1 of Scientific Method State the question

Page 3 Step 2 of Scientific Method Gather information on the problem

Page 4 Step 3 of Scientific Method Form a hypothesis

Page 5 Step 4 of Scientific Method Perform the experiment

Page 6 Step 5 of Scientific Method Record and analyze the data

Page 7 Step 6 of Scientific Method Write a conclusion

Page 8 Step 7 of Scientific Method Repeat the Work

BLOBS in a Bottle

(The World's Easiest Lava Lamp)

• A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle • 3/4 cup of water •Vegetable Oil •Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer)•Food coloring

Page 1

•Step 1 of Scientific Method

State the question

Can Vinegar Oil mix in water?

Page 2

•Step 2 of Scientific Method Gather information on the problem

• What Exactly are Oil and Vinegar?

• To understand why oil and vinegar don't mix, you have to understand their individual compositions. Vinegar is about 95 percent water, with just a small amount of acetic acid and some other compounds. Oil is made up of fats called lipids. There is a widely held belief that oil and vinegar don't mix because they are of different densities, but this is not true.The oil is less dense, which is why it floats to the top, but not why it won't combine.

Page 3

•Step 3 of Scientific Method Form a hypothesis

To write a testable hypothesis, it is important to consider how it will be tested and what makes for a valid experiment.

HYPOTHESIS: Have you ever tried to mix vindegar oil and water? What do you think will happen when you mix the food coloring with the oil? What will happen when you mix it with water?

Page 4

Step 4 of Scientific MethodPerform the experiment

1. Pour the water into the bottle.

2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle until it's almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.

3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water below.

4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!

5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.

Page 5

Record and analyze the data

To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something called "intermolecular polarity." That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinegrette salad dressing in a whole new way.

Page 6

Step 6 of Scientific MethodWrite a conclusion

When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started dissolving and creating a gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water. Cool, huh? By the way, you can store your "Blobs In A Bottle" with the cap on, and then anytime you want to bring it back to life, just add another tablet piece.

Page 7

• Step 7 of Scientific Method Repeat the work

Can you tell me what the variables are in your experiment?

What is the manipulated variable?

What are the independent and dependent variables are?

Page 8