Lava Lamp

Lava Lamp Experiment What you will need -Plastic bottle -Vegetable oil -Red, blue or green food colouring -Water -Vitamin C effervescent tablets Method -Fill the plastic bottle to just under the half way point with water -Then pour the vegetable oil up to just underneath the top of the bottle -Add in a few drops of food dye -Take your vitamin C effervescent tablet and break it in half -Add one half at a time and watch your lava lamp come to life! What is the science? There is a chemical reaction when the effervescent tablet is dropped into the water. You will see bubbling and fizzing (signs of something new being produced and a chemical reaction). The gas that is produced is Carbon Dioxide. The Carbon Dioxide bubbles attach themselves to water blobs and pull them up through the oil (water and oil do not mix) to the surface of the oil. When the water blobs reach the surface the Carbon Dioxide is released into the atmosphere and the blobs of water sink back down again creating a lava lamp effect. Extension Activities -When you are carrying out this experiment ask the child/children you are working with to tell you what they see – try to encourage them to notice that water and oil do not mix. -Ask children how they know there is a chemical reaction happening (something is being produced). -Ask children what they think is happening to make the water bubbles move up through to the top of the oil section and then back down again. -If you would like to extend this activity, why not ask them to write about how they carried out their experiment, ask them to draw a diagram of the bottle and to explain what is happening. -Put the lid on the bottle and shake the bottle – ask them – will this mix the oil and water together? Let’s see…… Links to the National Curriculum -Carrying out an experiment like this links to working scientifically, which runs through the National curriculum. This experiment is particularly good for developing scientific skills like observation, in particular close observation and suggesting the answers to questions. -Links to National Curriculum topic areas include year 1 everyday materials and year 4 states of matter. Music: https://www.bensound.com