Rainbow Milk Lab Report

Arthur J. Babcock
Mr. Babcock Period 1
August 22, 2016

Scientific Method: Rainbow Milk Lab

Problem/Introduction:
According to previous ideas and thoughts, there is a possibility that a
chemical reaction can occur between dishwashing soap, milk, and food coloring.
Hypothesis:
If I add food coloring to milk and then proceed to add dishwashing soap to
the milk afterwords, there should be a visible chemical reaction.
Experiment:
My team and I will conduct two separate experiments with similar
methods, but change one variable. We will swirl in a counter clockwise
dimension to see if there will be any other changes or similar results.
Analyze and Conclude:
We will compile a report with our results and we will summarize our
experiment. Please see below.

Arthur J. Babcock
Mr. Babcock Period 1

Biology
8/19/16

Rainbow Milk Lab Report: Example

Introduction
There are ingredients in chemicals that can be responsible for causing
chemical reactions when another substance is added. Today, we are looking at
what occurs when we add dishwashing soap to a petri dish with 2% milk inside
including several drops of food coloring.
Experiment
For our materials, we had a petri dish, dishwashing soap, 2% milk, and
food coloring (Red, blue, green and orange). We measured the amount of milk
we needed to add to the petri dish by estimating. We poured enough milk to fill
the petri dish halfway. Once we added the milk, we then placed exactly one drop
of green, one drop of blue, and one drop of red food coloring to the petri dish;
we did not add orange food coloring. We made sure to place the drops
separately from each other so we could obtain the best results, instead of
mixing the colors together in the petri dish. We then placed a large drop of
dishwashing soap in the petri dish. Once the dishwashing soap touched the milk,
the food coloring scattered towards the outside portion of the petri dish, leaving
streaks of red, blue, and green food coloring in the milk. We repeated the
experiment one more time to see if we would obtain a different result. For the
second experiment, we followed the same procedure from the initial attempt,
the only difference was that I accidentally placed the green coloring on top of

the red. The result was similar, but just mixed colors were visible due to the mix
of the green and red coloring. Once we observed the petri dish after the second
experiment, I decided to pick up the petri dish and then gently swirl it in a
clockwise rotation to see if anything else would occur. The colors began to
spread out further throughout the petri dish along with multiple red, green, and
blue streaks.
Results
1st Attempt:
After placing the dishwashing soap in the petri dish, the colors expanded
and migrated to the ends of the petri dish, leaving behind visible streaks and
mixed colors. This occurred when the food coloring was widespread from each
other.
2nd Attempt:
Due to the mistake I made of dropping the green coloring on top of the
red, we did not observe similar results. The streaks of coloring were similar, but
the coloring was much different as colors were mixed. After we swirled the petri
dish counter clockwise, the colors began to combine more than the first attempt.
Conclusion
This lab was engaging with my group and we had several ideas that
influenced our results after the experiments were performed. Once the
dishwashing soap hit the milk in the petri dish, the colors were very widespread
and combined. It made a difference to swirl the petri dish during the second

attempt to see the colors mix to have a more vibrant outcome. If we had more
time, I would love to complete several more attempts with more colors. I would
also like to see what the results would be if we involved either skim milk or
whole milk