LAVA LAMP
Materials
1. Clean and clear 1 liter soda bottle or any glass bottle with lid
2. Vegetable Oil
3. Water
4. Alka Seltzer
5. Food coloring
6. Glitter (optional)
7. Torch (optional)
How do I begin?
1. Fill about 1/4 the bottle with water.
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon glitter. You can add more if you like.
3. Now top off the rest of the bottle with vegetable oil until it is almost full, but not overflowing. You may need to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separation to occur.
4. Add about 8 -10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (if you use purple like we did, you should start with 6 - 8 drops and then increase as needed; we also tried red, and used about 8 drops). Notice that the food coloring mixes only with the water, and not oil!
5. Break a seltzer tablet into four pieces and drop them into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom of the bottle. Now step back in time and enjoy the psychedelic show! The glitter really adds the extra "ooh" factor. Notice the bubbles forming on top of the bottle.
5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet. Shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle for a true lava lamp effect.
What just happened?
As we know, oil is lighter or less dense than water. Hence, oil floats above the water. Oil and water do not mix with each other because of "intermolecular polarity." All it means is water molecules are attracted to other water molecules and bond loosely together; oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules. The moleculer structure of water and oil do not allow them to bond to each other.
You will notice that the gas bubbles rise up to take only food coloring and water with them to the surface, not oil. Once the gas in the bubbles has escaped through the top of the bottle, the water droplets fall back to the bottom . When all the gas has escaped, the water and oil separate into two layers again. Pretty awesome, huh?
Now go and create your own psychedelic show. Know the best part? Your show just keeps on going! If you want to reactivate your lava lamp, all you do is grab a couple Alka Seltzer tablets, break 'em into four pieces, drop 'em into the bottle and step back in time again!
Exploring Further
1. Does the temperature of the water have an effect on the reaction?
2. Does the bottle size make a difference on the number of blobs produced?
3. Does the size of the Alka Seltzer pieces affect the number of blobs created?
4. Does closing the bottle with the lid lessen the effect?
1. Clean and clear 1 liter soda bottle or any glass bottle with lid
2. Vegetable Oil
3. Water
4. Alka Seltzer
5. Food coloring
6. Glitter (optional)
7. Torch (optional)
How do I begin?
1. Fill about 1/4 the bottle with water.
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon glitter. You can add more if you like.
3. Now top off the rest of the bottle with vegetable oil until it is almost full, but not overflowing. You may need to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separation to occur.
4. Add about 8 -10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (if you use purple like we did, you should start with 6 - 8 drops and then increase as needed; we also tried red, and used about 8 drops). Notice that the food coloring mixes only with the water, and not oil!
5. Break a seltzer tablet into four pieces and drop them into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom of the bottle. Now step back in time and enjoy the psychedelic show! The glitter really adds the extra "ooh" factor. Notice the bubbles forming on top of the bottle.
5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet. Shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle for a true lava lamp effect.
What just happened?
As we know, oil is lighter or less dense than water. Hence, oil floats above the water. Oil and water do not mix with each other because of "intermolecular polarity." All it means is water molecules are attracted to other water molecules and bond loosely together; oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules. The moleculer structure of water and oil do not allow them to bond to each other.
You will notice that the gas bubbles rise up to take only food coloring and water with them to the surface, not oil. Once the gas in the bubbles has escaped through the top of the bottle, the water droplets fall back to the bottom . When all the gas has escaped, the water and oil separate into two layers again. Pretty awesome, huh?
Now go and create your own psychedelic show. Know the best part? Your show just keeps on going! If you want to reactivate your lava lamp, all you do is grab a couple Alka Seltzer tablets, break 'em into four pieces, drop 'em into the bottle and step back in time again!
Exploring Further
1. Does the temperature of the water have an effect on the reaction?
2. Does the bottle size make a difference on the number of blobs produced?
3. Does the size of the Alka Seltzer pieces affect the number of blobs created?
4. Does closing the bottle with the lid lessen the effect?