March 31: Lava Lamp and Density

Assigned Teachers: Piyumika, Suren Dilashini, Tameez

Intro

(10 minutes)

  • Introduce the topic of the day: creating a lava lamp and learning about density.

  • Explain the concept of density in simple terms, using examples like sinking and floating.

  • Discuss the objectives of the class: to understand density through hands-on experimentation and to create a visually appealing lava lamp.(see definition for kids below)

  • Show the introductory experiment with the eggs (ask kids for their predictions and the reason why

You will need:

    • 2 jars with water and 2 eggs (introductory experiment)

    • Salt (introductory experiment)

    • Clear plastic bottles 300 or 500 ml (one per Team - 2 kids)

    • Water

    • Vegetable oil

    • Food coloring (multiple colors)

    • Alka-Seltzer tablets/baking soda

    • Funnel

    • Small cups

    • Spoons

    • Tissues

Making and Problem-Solving (25 minutes)

  • Distribute materials to each student and guide them through the process of creating their lava lamps.

  • Instruct students to fill their bottles about one-third full with water using the funnel.

  • Next, have them carefully pour vegetable oil into the bottles until they are almost full, leaving some space at the top.

  • Add a few drops of food coloring to the bottles. Students can choose their preferred colors.

  • Break an Alka-Seltzer tablet into small pieces and drop them into the bottle one at a time.

  • Observe and discuss what happens as the tablet reacts with the liquids. Encourage problem-solving if the reaction is not as expected: What can they do to make their lava lamps work better?

Community Building (15 minutes)

Once everyone has created their lava lamps, encourage students to share their creations with the class.

Allow time for students to ask questions and discuss their observations with each other.

Emphasize teamwork and collaboration by encouraging students to help each other troubleshoot any issues they encountered during the activity.

Conclusion and Reflection (15 minutes)

Summarize the key concepts learned during the class, focusing on density and how it relates to the lava lamp experiment.

Ask students to reflect on their experience: What did they learn? What was challenging? What was their favorite part?

Encourage students to take their lava lamps home and continue to observe them, noting any changes over time.

Thank the students for their participation and enthusiasm.

For volunteers: Definition of density for kids - Intro:

Imagine you have two jars, one filled with cotton candy and another with a big, heavy rock. Now, even if the jars are the same size, which one (cotton candy or rock) do you think is heavier when you pick it up? Yep, it's the one with the rock, right? That's because the rock is more densely packed with stuff than the cotton candy.

Density is like a secret code that tells us how tightly packed something is. When we talk about density, we're asking, "How much stuff is squeezed into a certain space?" So, if something is really dense, it means there's a lot of stuff packed into a small area. But if it's not so dense, there's not as much stuff in the same space.

Now, how do we learn about density? Well, let's get our hands dirty and do some experiments! When we mixed oil and water to make those cool lava lamps? That's one way to learn about density. Ask kids what they expect to happen if they pour oil and water into a bottle. Yes correct, it doesn't mix because they have different densities. The oil, being less dense, floats on top of the water. Oil is lighter than water because it's less dense.

We can also learn about density by playing with toys in the bathtub! Have you ever noticed how some toys sink in the water while others float? That's because the sinking ones are denser than the water, so they can't float, but the floating ones are less dense, so they stay on top.

Annette Klockenbusch2024, march, scienceComment