TOPIC: CHANGES – SOLUTIONS
MIXING WATER, OIL AND VINEGAR
Problem (Question):
What will happen when oil is mixed with water and vinegar?
Hypothesis (Guess):
Have students PREDICT (or guess) what they think will happen when water and vinegar is mixed. What
about when water and oil is mixed? Vinegar and oil? Don’t continue until you get a prediction from each
child.
Materials (Things you need):
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Clear plastic cups
Cooking oil
One spoon per 2 children
Water
Vinegar
Jar with a lid
Procedure (What did you do?):
Have the students take turns EXPERIMENTING:
1. Give each pair of children three individual clear plastic cups, each filled about one fourth full of
water, oil and vinegar.
2. Have students observe, smell, touch and describe each liquid. Discuss what they notice.
3. Have students pour the vinegar into the water, mix and observe.
4. Have students pour the oil into the water and vinegar, mix and observe the results.
5. Have students pour the water, oil and vinegar into a container, shake and observe.
6. Tell students that water and vinegar are both SOLUBLE and form a SOLUTION.
7. The oil is NOT SOLUBLE and will not DISSOLVE in the water and vinegar solution. It will float
to the top.
Observation (What did you see?):
Ask questions to extend thinking and help students begin to draw CONCLUSIONS:
1. What happens when you mix water and vinegar? Is this a solution? (Yes) Why? (Because water
and vinegar mix easily together – one does not float on top of the other.)
2. What happens when you add oil to the water and vinegar? Is this a solution? (No) Why?
(Because it does not dissolve in the water and vinegar solution. It floats on top.)
Conclusion (What did you learn?):
1. The water and vinegar are both soluble and form a solution.
2. The oil is not soluble and will not dissolve in the water and vinegar solution, but floats to the
top. This is called an emulsion.
Physical Science – Properties of Matter (Changes) Gr. 1/2 (Track A) Gr. 2
Source: Unknown
Adapted by: Gayle Hernandez (2006)
(Track A)