Start your science fair planning now
Ihope everyone had a great holiday break and have now settled into the first full week of online learning at home. It is definitely different for us to learn this way, but I think many of us are getting the hang of it… finally!
Well, all that aside, it is that time of the year where we should be thinking about the science fair!
Yes, absolutely, let’s start planning. Of course, due to the uncertainty surrounding the current health pandemic, the Kiwanis Regional Science Fair has made the decision to go virtual. Details are unfolding daily, so keep your eyes open on this column, ask your teacher or visit our website for the most up-to-date information. Of course any students in Grades 4-12 in our area can participate. In order to get you into the mindset, here is a little activity that could start you off on your first science fair in elementary school. Let’s get started!
Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.
Materials
— Clear glass
— Water
— Vegetable oil
— Food colouring
— Table salt
— Measuring spoons — Measuring cups — Counter or sturdy table to work on
— Science notebook/logbook
Procedure
1. Write down your experiment in your science journal so you can have it to share with others at the science fair. Make sure you include your hypothesis, the materials you used, your observations of what is going on, the procedure or the steps you followed when you did the experiment and what happened or the results.
2. To start, measure and fill the glass with 175 mL (3/4 cup) of tap water.
3. Set the glass on a table and allow it to settle. Observe. What do you see (if anything)?
4. Measure 60 mL (1/4 cup of vegetable oil). Be careful here… slowly pour the vegetable oil down the side of the glass.
5. Make some observations and record in your science notebook.
6. Add two drops of food colouring. What happens?
7. Add 15 mL (one tablespoon) of salt to the oil DO NOT STIR THIS. Observe.
8. What happens?
What is going on?
In this experiment you investigated density. I hope that when you poured the oil into the water, you observed that it floated on top of the water. How does that work you may wonder, well, it is because oil is less dense than water.
The food colouring should have floated in the oil. But wait… Then you added the salt to the top of the glass and it sat on top of the oil just for a minute then it sunk to the bottom. This is because the salt is heavier than the two liquids in the glass. You should have also observed that on the way down to the bottom of the glass, it “grabbed’ a bit of the oil and even some of the food colouring and pulled it down to the bottom with it. BUT, as the salt begins to dissolve, the oil will once again float back to the top!
Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @ PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@ praxismh.ca.