Scientwists - A Magical Way to Discover the World of Science

Learn the basic concept of density – heavy materials sink to the bottom while light materials rise to the top.

Materials:
•    Large clear glass container
•    Vegetable oil
•    Rubbing alcohol
•    Food coloring
•    Salt

Directions:
1.    Place glass container on a flat surface.
2.    Pour some vegetable oil into the glass so it fills about half of the glass.
3.    Now add some rubbing alcohol to the oil so the mixture fills the glass ¾ full.
4.    Watch what happens to the two ingredients. The vegetable oil will settle to the bottom of the glass while the rubbing alcohol rests on top of the oil.
5.    Slowly add a few drops of food coloring – use your favorite color.
*We suggest to use only one or two colors so you don’t create a brownish color once the salt is added.
6. Watch as the drops of food coloring will sink through the alcohol and settle on top of
      the vegetable oil.
7. Show time! Add small amounts of salt to get your lava lamp working (about one to
     two tablespoons at a time).
8. Keep adding salt to make your lava lamp working.

What’s Happening:
Lava lamps work due to a concept called density. The vegetable oil is denser than the rubbing alcohol. That’s why the rubbing alcohol and oil do not mix; rubbing alcohol rests on top of the oil. When heaps of salt are dropped into the glass, they will sink to the bottom, taking some of the food coloring and alcohol with it. Since they are both less dense than the vegetable oil, they will float up to the surface looking like a small bubble.

	A Magical Way to Discover the World of Science
Experiments Ancient Quicksand Penny Cleaning Magic Sand Keep Me Dry Underwater Slimy Gak Games Thar She Blows Speedy Dollar Potato Rocket Launchers Homemade Lava Lamps Invisible Ink Multimedia Coming Soon About Scientwists Contact Us		Homemade Lava Lamps You can easily make a colorful homemade lava lamp at home that works! Learn the basic concept of density – heavy materials sink to the bottom while light materials rise to the top. Materials: • Large clear glass container • Vegetable oil • Rubbing alcohol • Food coloring • Salt Directions: 1. Place glass container on a flat surface. 2. Pour some vegetable oil into the glass so it fills about half of the glass. 3. Now add some rubbing alcohol to the oil so the mixture fills the glass ¾ full. 4. Watch what happens to the two ingredients. The vegetable oil will settle to the bottom of the glass while the rubbing alcohol rests on top of the oil. 5. Slowly add a few drops of food coloring – use your favorite color. *We suggest to use only one or two colors so you don’t create a brownish color once the salt is added. 6. Watch as the drops of food coloring will sink through the alcohol and settle on top of the vegetable oil. 7. Show time! Add small amounts of salt to get your lava lamp working (about one to two tablespoons at a time). 8. Keep adding salt to make your lava lamp working. What’s Happening: Lava lamps work due to a concept called density. The vegetable oil is denser than the rubbing alcohol. That’s why the rubbing alcohol and oil do not mix; rubbing alcohol rests on top of the oil. When heaps of salt are dropped into the glass, they will sink to the bottom, taking some of the food coloring and alcohol with it. Since they are both less dense than the vegetable oil, they will float up to the surface looking like a small bubble.