Title: Blobs in a Bottle NOS #2

Autumn Goens and Denise Torres
Grade Level: 5th
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Physical Science (Chemical Change)
Scientific knowledge is a product of both observation and
inference.
NGSS Standard(s)
5-PS1-4: Conduct an investigation to determine whether
the mixing of two or more substances results in new
substances.

Purpose:
Student Nave Conceptions/ Scientific Background Knowledge for the Discrepant
Misconceptions: Event
1. Students will believe that the
weight of the object will Oil and water mixture Oil, a hydrophobic
change after the chemical compound, and water, a hydrophilic compound, do
reaction has occurred. not mix. See detailed discussion in Introduction
2. Students will think that a section.
physical change is occurring, Acid-base reaction A chemical reaction between
not a chemical change. two substances where one is an acid and one is a
3. Students will believe that the base.
vegetable oil is denser than Hydrophobic compound A scared of water
water. compound that do not dissolve easily in water.
Science Topic: Hydrophilic compound A water loving
Chemical Changes compound that easily bonds with water.
Oil is nonpolar and water is polar
Materials:
Glass bottles (amount will vary)
Vegetable oil
Alka-Seltzer
Water
Food coloring (blue, yellow, red, green)
Trifold display
Procedure
Set Up:
Get the trifold set up in the middle of our table with our supplies laid around it.
Make sure to have an empty pitcher to pour out used mixtures to continue recreating
DE for other groups.
Sit bowl out that is filled with candy for students to take after the DE is over.
Greet the students: Say, Hi, I am Miss Torres. I am Miss Goens. Our names are on our
nametags in case you forget. What are your names and what grade are you in? Welcome
to Blobs in a Bottle.

Pre-Assessment:

Ask, Do you know what the word dense means? Well something that is dense is closely
compacted into a substance. For example, vegetable oil is less dense than water because the
molecules that make up the oil are larger than those that that make up water, so they cannot
pack as tightly together as the water molecules can.
Do you think if we added oil to water, that the oil would float or sink? (Answer: It will float
because its less dense than water).
Hook: Ask, Have you ever seen a lava lamp before?
Exploration (A-set)
Well today, we are going to create our own version of a lava lamp!
Concept Development: Modeling with posing questions and guided instruction (start making science
connections)
1. What happens when you add oil to the plastic bottle that contains water? Why do you think
this occurs? (Answer: Because the water is denser than the oil).
2. What happens when you add the food coloring to the bottle? (Answer: The food coloring sinks
to the water changing the color of the water, but not the oil). Why do you think this occurs?
(Answer: Because the food coloring is soluble in water and attaches to the water molecules.
The oil is nonpolar and insoluble).
3. What happens when you add the Alka-Seltzer to the bottle? (Answer: It fizzed, created
bubbles, the bubbles rose to the top creating the colorful blobs). Why do you think this
occurs? (Answer: Because a carbon dioxide gas was created).
4. What experiments did you perform on the closed soda bottle (twisting, shaking, etc.)? What
did you notice during each trial? (Answer: When you shook it, all components mixed and after
several minutes, the water and the oil began to separate).
Procedure:
1. Fill the glass bottle full of water.
2. Add oil to the neck of the bottle, leaving a little space between the water line and the top of the
container. (You can always add more water at a later time.)
3. Ask students, what color do you want our lava lamp to be? (red, green, blue, or yellow).
4. Add 10 or more drops of food coloring they chose to the bottle until a rich color is seen. (Have
students drop color one by one into the mixture).
5. Break the Alka-Seltzer tablet into smaller pieces (6 to 8). Ask, What do you think will
happen if we add Alka-Seltzer to the bottle? Add one piece at a time observing each
reaction. As we add the pieces we will ask, What are some observations you can come up
with?
6. When the bubbling stops replace the bottle cap.
7. Tip the bottle back and forth and observe the reaction. Tip, twist, and shake the bottle in
different directions. Ask students, What is happening? Why do you think this is happening?
Response to younger students: When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom and started
dissolving and creating a carbon dioxide gas. As the gas bubbles rose, they took some of the colored
water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water.

Response to older students: The oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than the water or
less dense than water. The oil and water do not mix because of something called intermolecular
polarity. Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted to other water
molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond together (drops.) This is similar to magnets
that are attracted to each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they get along
fine as well.

Close/Evaluate:

Ask, What was your favorite part of this experiment?

Ask, Do you think you can do this at home?
Thank the students for participating.
Give them a piece of candy and tell them to enjoy the rest of Science Night.
Guide them back to the line.

Citation in APA 6:
Grade, B. (2014). Homemade Lava Lamp. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from
http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/make-your-own-lava-lamp/