Name: ________________________
Particle Theory Lab Stations
Station #1A
Method:
Observations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The food colouring falls to the bottom
5.
6.
Wear safety glasses.
Fill a beaker with cold tap water.
Let it sit still for a bit so that the water is perfectly still.
Place ONE drop of food colouring in the water without stirring or
mixing (don’t spill any or get it on your fingertips).
Record your observations (what you notice) on your worksheet.
Wash and clean up your apparatus so it’s ready for station #1B.
and then starts to spread out in the
water. The longer you wait, the more it
mixes.
Which statement about the Particle Theory does this illustrate? (write the entire statement)
The particles are always moving.
Explain why or how this statement is illustrated:
The particles of water and the particles of food colouring are moving and
bumping into each other all the time. So, even though the water was
perfectly still, the food colouring mixed together with the water.
Station #1B
Method:
(same as station #1A but with HOT water)
7.
8.
9.
10.
Wear safety glasses.
Fill a beaker with HOT water.
Let it sit still for a bit so that the water is perfectly still.
Place ONE drop of food colouring in the water without stirring or
mixing (don’t spill any or get it on your fingertips).
11. Record your observations (what you notice) on your worksheet.
Specifically, what is different from #1A?
12. Wash and clean up your apparatus so it’s ready for the next group.
13. Fill out the rest of your worksheet.
Observations:
The food colouring mixed in and spread
out much quicker than in the cold water.
Which statement about the Particle Theory does this illustrate? (write the entire statement)
The more energy they have, the faster they move.
Explain why or how this statement is illustrated:
The particles in the water are hotter (they have more thermal energy) so
they are moving faster, so they mix with the food colouring particles faster.
Station #2
Method:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Observations:
Wear safety glasses.
Fill the beaker with tap water.
Place the small cup in the middle of the tray.
Fill the cup almost to the top with water.
Using the pipette, add drops of water until it just overflows.
Place the open salt container on the balance and tare it (zero it).
Using the scoop, slowly add salt to the cup until it overflows.
Place the salt container back on the balance to see how much salt you used. Record it.
Wash and clean up your apparatus so it’s ready for the next group.
Fill out the rest of your worksheet.
How much salt were you able to add to the
water? ___________
Which statement about the Particle Theory does this illustrate? (write the entire statement)
Matter is made up of tiny particles with spaces between them.
How was it possible to add salt if the cup was already full?
There are spaces between the water particles and there are spaces between
the salt particles. When mixed, the salt dissolves in the water, and the
particles fit into the spaces between other particles.
Station #3
Method:
Observations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The food colouring was quickly pushed
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Wear safety glasses.
Pour milk into the petri dish until it’s about 5mm (0.5cm) deep.
Let the dish sit for a bit until the milk is perfectly still.
Add one drop of each food colouring to the milk. Keep them close, but not
touching, near the centre of the dish.
Dip the end of a cotton swab in the dish soap.
WITHOUT STIRRING OR MIXING, carefully hold the soapy end of the cotton
swab in the centre of the milk for 10-15 seconds.
Record your observations (what you notice) on your worksheet.
Wash and clean up your apparatus so it’s ready for the next group.
Fill out the rest of your worksheet.
to the outside and then it slowly mixed
together with the milk.
Which statement about the Particle Theory does this illustrate? (write the entire statement)
The particles are attracted to each other.
Explain why or how this statement is illustrated (hint: think about magnets):
One end of the dish soap particles attracts water particles while the other
end attracts the fat in the milk, which causes the soap particles to zoom
out in every direction on the milk’s surface. This pushes the food colouring to
the edge.