An oil and water suspension model
Proof of suspension in a bottle.
Objectives:
Students compare different sequences for creating the model. Students explain understandings of suspension.
Materials:
Focus:
Show the students the materials and ask them to predict what will happen when the oil and water are shaken in the bottle. Model writing the predictions down. Scramble these steps and have the students put them back in an order that their group uses to build the model:
a. Pour enough oil to fill half the bottle
b. Color the water with the food colors.
c. Pour the water into the bottle to fill it halfway.
d. Put the cap on the bottle
Have them tell (in turns) which possible sequences could be followed in order to create the bottles. Which step must come last? What choices are there for the first step? Can the water be colored after it's in the bottle? ( Since the food colors are water soluble the sequence cabd actually works too.)
Groups must also decide what color they want their water to be and which colors must be mixed to create that color.
Close:
Check the results with the written predictions. No matter how much the students shake the bottle , the oil and the water are suspended and they will not dissolve. Visual learners love to see the hundreds of tiny brightly colored globes when shaking the bottle. Have students describe how this is different than dissolving sugar or drink mix in water. Have the students draw pictures comparing a settled bottle and a shaken one.
Enrichment:
Darken the room and use the slide strip projector or other bright source to project light through the bottle. "Write a few things down about what you saw today that you want to remember to tell your parents tonight "
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