Surface Tension

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In this activity exploring liquid dynamics, learners design and build a clay channel in a tray of water and then see what happens when food coloring and liquid soap are added to the mix. The activity also has suggestions on how to extend the experiment for older learners once they understand the basic concept of surface tension. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org. Activity write-up only, images are unavailable.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$5 - $10 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 11
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per group of students)

  • Cafeteria Tray (with raised edges)
  • Plasticine modeling clay
  • Water
  • Liquid soap
  • Food coloring
  • Toothpick
  • Paper towels
  • Bucket or basin for waste water

Keywords

Subjects

  • Physical Sciences
    • Chemistry
      • Chemical Reactions
      • Solutions
    • States of Matter
      • Liquids

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • see color
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • TryScience

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Carnegie Science Center,