Lava

Concept: Intermolecular Polarity
Intermolecular forces are forces that are exerted by molecules on each other. Such forces may be either attractive or repulsive in nature and may polarize accordingly.

Read Aloud: Crazy Concoctions by Jordan D. Brown

Ingredients:

      ·         1 cup Vegetable Oil

      ·         ¼ cup Water

      ·         Alka-Seltzer Tablet

      ·         Food Coloring

      ·         Plastic Bottle

      ·         Funnel

Demonstration:

      ·         Pour 1 cup of vegetable oil into the plastic bottle.

      ·         Pour ¼ cup of water into the plastic bottle.

      ·         Add about 4 drops of food coloring to the plastic bottle.

      ·         Divide an Alka-Seltzer tablet into 4 pieces.

      ·         Drop one of the Alka-Seltzer tablet pieces into the plastic bottle.

      ·         Tilt the plastic bottle back and forth.

Experiment:

·         Does the temperature of the water affect the reaction?

·         Does the reaction still happen if a cap is put on the plastic bottle?

Observations:

Oil and water have different intermolecular forces and therefore do not mix because of intermolecular polarity. Water is what is known as a polar molecule. Vegetable oil, on the other hand, is a nonpolar molecule. This means that oil and water are immiscible. Food coloring is a polar molecule so food coloring and water are miscible.