Water is amazing and there are all sorts of fun water based experiments you and your kids can do.
Fascinating Flowers
One of the main things plants need to survive is water. They use capillary action to suck water up through their stems and into their leaves and petals. You can see this in action with this fun experiment.
You will need:
4 white flowers with long stems, carnations are a good choice
4 glasses
4 different colours of natural food colouring
A pair of scissors or a sharp knife
First take each flower and cut 10cm off the bottom of the stem. Make sure you cut at an angle. Fill each glass with water up to the half way point. Add a few drops of food colouring to each glass and stir until the water is a uniform colour. Place each flower in a different glass. Over a few days the flowers will magically change colour.
Super Surface Tension
One of the chemicals that makes up water is hydrogen. Hydrogen bonds are what create the surface tension on water. This is what allows insects like Pond Skaters to apparently walk on water. However some chemicals can weaken the hydrogen bonds. Try this experiment to see for yourself.
You will need:
30ml dish soap
2 glasses
Two small pieces of paper
Add water to both glasses up to 3 quarters of the way full. Add the dish soap to one of these glasses and stir until it thoroughly mixed in. Scrunch each piece of paper into a ball. Gently drop a paper ball into each glass. In the glass of just water the paper ball will sit quite happily at the surface. In the glass with the dish soap you’ll see the paper ball begin to sink. This is because dish soap is a surfactant and weakens the hydrogen bonds and therefore the surface tension too.
Dazzling Density
Although we love water not every other substance does. Oil does not mix with water and you can see this in the next experiment. Before you begin make sure you have a large washing up bowl to do the experiment in as it could get messy.
You will need:
2 identical tall, straight glasses, Collins glasses are perfect
Enough vegetable oil to fill one glass
Food colouring
A playing card
A large washing up bowl
Place both glasses in the washing up bowl. Fill one glass to the brim with vegetable oil. Add a few drops of your choice of food colouring to the empty glass. Add water to the food colouring and fill the glass to the brim. Place the playing card on top of the glass filled with water and food colouring. Hold it firmly in place. Turn the water filled glass upside down and place it directly on top of the oil filled glass. Allow the contents of each container to settle and then gently remove the playing card. The water and oil will trade places. Water is denser than oil so the oil will always float to the top.
Enjoy these experiments with Luxury Water from BWT.
