The Summer Science Club is a collection of fun kid-friendly science experiments and STEM projects explained.
As school ends millions of kids are released from a strict schedule of learning and innovating. As a kid who grew up with a science teacher mom and an engineering dad, I spent my summers doing science experiments and STEM projects. I came out of every summer with many new skills and knowledge of the world around me. Now, working with young kids at the library and babysitting kids, I teach these experiments to others.
Lava lamps are actually quite simple to make and very mesmerizing to look at. The lava lamps that you buy at the store are made of different materials than what this experiment uses. The blobs that move around are made out of a wax mixture. The wax is heated up by a lightbulb at the bottom of the lamp and as it gets hotter and softens the wax can move more freely through the water mixture. The two mixtures don't mix because they have different densities.
Wax and water don't have the same density like a lot of liquids. Water and oil, which is what we're using, have different densities as well. To find the densities of the liquids you have to use the equation density=mass/volume. They are also non-polar liquids. Their charges don't attract so they repel each other. All of these factors mean that we get beads of the heavier liquid.
For this experiment, we are using the same amount of water and oil. When you measure them out use a one-cup measure. Now you have the same volume of oil and water but when you wash them you will notice that they are different amounts. This is the mass of both liquids. Going back to the density equation, if you divide the mass by the volume of the oil and the water you get the density. The water is heavier than the oil which means it will sink.
In this experiment, the water is heavier than the oil so the water sinks to the bottom. Then when the agitator, an Alka Seltzer tablet, adds carbon dioxide molecules which stick to the water molecules and make the water less dense than the oil. As the water and carbon dioxide rise to the top, the carbon dioxide is released into the air and the water droplets sink back down because they attach to the carbon dioxide again.
The Steps
Measure out the same volume, 1 cup, of oil and water. Add food coloring to the water before you mix the oil and water.
Add an Alka Seltzer tablet to the mixture and watch the colorful water droplets rise to the top and sink to the bottom.
That's it! The experiment is super simple but there are a lot of different experiments that use the same steps. Try different liquids that have different densities or add glitter to see how different materials interact.
Work Cited
“How to Make a Lava Lamp: DIY Lava Lamp Science Experiment + Video.” Home Science Tools, https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-a-homemade-lava-lamp-science-project/#lesson. Accessed 19 August 2024.
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