Scientific Inquiry Experiment
Table of Contents
Page 1 My Experiment ( The Name)
Materials
Page 2 Step 1 of Scientific Method State the question
Page 3 Step 2 of Scientific Method Gather information
on the problem
Page 4 Step 3 of Scientific Method Form a hypothesis
Page 5 Step 4 of Scientific Method Perform the experiment
Page 6 Step 5 of Scientific Method Record and analyze the data
Page 7 Step 6 of Scientific Method Write a conclusion
Page 8 Step 7 of Scientific Method Repeat the Work
BLOBS in a Bottle
(The World's Easiest Lava Lamp)
• A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle
• 3/4 cup of water
•Vegetable Oil
•Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer)
•Food coloring
Page 1
• Step 1 of Scientific Method
State the question
Can Vinegar Oil mix in water?
Page 2
• Step 2 of Scientific Method
Gather information on the problem
• What Exactly are Oil and Vinegar?
• To understand why oil and vinegar don't mix, you have to
understand their individual compositions. Vinegar is about
95 percent water, with just a small amount of acetic acid and
some other compounds. Oil is made up of fats called lipids.
There is a widely held belief that oil and vinegar don't mix
because they are of different densities, but this is not true.
The oil is less dense, which is why it floats to the top, but not
why it won't combine.
Page 3
• Step 3 of Scientific Method
Form a hypothesis
To write a testable hypothesis, it is important to consider
how it will be tested and what makes for a valid experiment.
HYPOTHESIS:
Have you ever tried to mix vindegar oil and water? What do
you think will happen when you mix the food coloring with
the oil? What will happen when you mix it with water?
Page 4
Step 4 of Scientific Method
Perform the experiment
1. Pour the water into the bottle.
2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the
bottle until it's almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and
water separate.
3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will
look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water
below.
4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch
it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!
5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp
effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.
Page 5
Record and analyze the data
To begin, the oil stays above the water because the oil is lighter than
the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. The oil and
water do not mix because of something called "intermolecular
polarity." That term is fun to bring up in dinner conversation.
Molecular polarity basically means that water molecules are attracted
to other water molecules. They get along fine, and can loosely bond
together (drops.) This is similar to magnets that are attracted to
each other. Oil molecules are attracted to other oil molecules, they
get along fine as well. But the structures of the two molecules do not
allow them to bond together. Of course, there’s a lot more fancy
scientific language to describe density and molecular polarity, but
maybe now you’ll at least look at that vinegrette salad dressing in a
whole new way.
Page 6
Step 6 of Scientific Method
Write a conclusion
When you added the tablet piece, it sank to the bottom
and started dissolving and creating a gas. As the gas
bubbles rose, they took some of the colored water with
them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas
escaped and down went the water. Cool, huh? By the
way, you can store your "Blobs In A Bottle" with the cap
on, and then anytime you want to bring it back to life,
just add another tablet piece.
Page 7
• Step 7 of Scientific Method
Repeat the work
Can you tell me what the variables are in your
experiment?
What is the manipulated variable?
What are the independent and dependent
variables are?
Page 8