6-Layer
Liquid
What You'll Need
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Flat-bottom Tube
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Vegetable Oil
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Honey
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Rubbing Alcohol
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Corn syrup
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1 Pipette
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Dish soap
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Food Coloring
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Water
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Mini Cup
GRADE
6-8
TIME
15 min
Directions
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Pour the honey into the tube until it is ~1/7 full; try to pour the honey so that it does not touch the sides of the container as it will take a long time to reach the bottom.
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Wait for the liquid to settle.
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Pour the corn syrup into the tube until it is ~2/7 full, again avoiding the sides of the tube.
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Wait for the liquid to settle.
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Add the dish soap on top of the corn syrup until the tube is ~3/7 full.
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Wait for the liquid to settle.
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Add water and a few drops of food coloring to the mini cup.
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Cap and shake the cup until the water is uniformly dyed.
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Fill the pipette with the dyed water, and add the liquid to the tube until it is ~4/7 full. Initially, the water will mix with the dish soap layer, but it will eventually settle on top.
10. Using the same pipette, fill it with vegetable oil until the tube is ~5/7 full, and add it on top of the water layer.
11. Wait for the liquid to settle.
12. Add the rubbing alcohol on top of the oil layer until the tube is almost full.
13. Wait for all of the liquids to settle.
14. You now have a 6-layer liquid! Avoid shaking the tube as it will take some time for the liquids to settle back into place.
What
Happened?
This experiment works because the various liquids each have different densities. Density is the measure of how compact something is. For example, a blown-up balloon has a very small density since it’s mostly air but takes up a large amount of space. Furthermore, the more dense a substance, the more likely it is to sink, so the honey, the densest liquid, stayed on the bottom while the rubbing alcohol rested on top.