Water covers more than half of the earth!  We swim and play in water and we even dance in the rain.  Water is a liquid and this week we will learn about water and different liquids that we encounter all the time.  Summer Science Water and Liquids we will explore how a boat floats, command a sea diver, and even make a refreshing drink!

Water is needed for us to survive and also to help us grow plants.  Water is a liquid which is a substance that flows easily.  There are other liquids such as oil that we use in cooking.  Liquids can also become solids, like ice, when we freeze water we are changing it from a liquid to a solid.  Heating the water up causes it to evaporate or turn into a gas which is called ‘water vapor,’ which disappears into the air.  This water vapor will cool and when it does it turns back into water, a liquid.  Everyone needs water, even animals and plants need water to live.  Water help us keep our bodies working.  Water is very strong and can change the shape of land.  Waves from the sea hit the shore and will wear the rocks away.  Rain washes dirt into rivers which carry the dirt from place to place.  A Snowman is made with solid water which we call snow.  Snow is made up of frozen water crystals.

Sink and Float

Ever see a ship and wonder why it doesn’t sink?  Weight does not matter whether an object will sink or float it matters how much water it “displaces” or pushes aside.  Boats have safety levels on the sides of them which helps show a safe load level for that boat.

Supplies:

• modeling clay
• marbles
• glass container of water

Directions:

1. Drop marbles and a ball of clay into the water and notice how they all sunk, which means it did not displace much water.
2. Take the marbles and clay out and shape the clay into a boat shape.
3. Place the clay into the water and watch it float, more water was displaced and pushes with more force so it can support the clay boat causing it to float.
4. Carefully place some cargo, or marbles, into the boat.  The boat lowers but can still float.

Command a Sea Diver

Command your own dive.  The concept of this pen diver demonstrates how submarines and other vessels work that dive deep under the sea.

Supplies:

• Modeling clay
• Glass of water
• Plastic pen top
• Plastic bottle (I used an empty 20 oz. pop bottle)

Directions

1. If there is a hole in the tip of the pen seal it with modeling clay.
2. Roll a small piece of clay into a ball and stick on the pen clip.
3. Put your diver into the glass of water, add or remove clay so it floats.  The tip of the pen should be above the water.
4. Fill the bottle to the top with water and place the diver in and put the lid back on.  A bubble of air is trapped inside the top of the pen and causes it to float.
5. Squeeze the sides of the bottle and watch the diver dives down to the bottom.  Water enters the top of the pen and pushes the air out so the pen now sinks.
6. Release the bottle and see the diver return to the surface.  Water left the top of the pen and the air in the top of the pen causes it to rise back to the top.

Underwater Volcano

Hot water rises to the surface and floats on cold water.  So when an Underwater Volcano erupts the hot water will rise to the surface.

Supplies:

• Narrow-necked small bottle
• Hot and cold water
• Red food coloring
• String
• Large glass jar

Directions:

1. Cut two pieces of string and tie around the narrow-necked bottle so you can easily lift it into the large glass.
2. Fill the large glass jar with cold water until it’s about ¾ the way full.
3. Fill the small bottle with hot water and dye it red.
4. Hold the small bottle by the string and gently lowers into the jar of cold water.
5. The hot red water rises from the bottle like smoke like a volcano.

Mixing Liquids

Even though there are different liquids not all liquids will mix together.  See how oil and water will separate from another and how some liquids like oil won’t dye another color.  I had way too much fun with this one and I know that sounds stupid but I tried different colors, mixing it differently, and even multiple colors so a lot of fun with a simple experiment.

Supplies:

• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Food coloring
• Spoon
• Glass container

Directions:

1. Pour some water into the glass container.  Dye it another color like blue or green.
2. Pour oil into the container of water.  Have the kids try to mix it together and let them watch it separate again.
3. Let the oil and water separate.  Drop a couple drops of food coloring into the oil.  It will rest at the bottom of the oil.
4. Now with a fork push the food coloring down into the water and watch the water change colors.

Water has Holes?

Substances like water are made up of very tiny particles called molecules.  When sugar dissolves in water, the sugar molecules get into tiny holes between the water molecules.  Because of these little gaps we can add sugar to an already full cup of water.

Supplies:

• Bowl of sugar
• Cup of warm water
• Teaspoon

Directions:

1. Fill a cup with warm water all the way to the top so it’s almost over flowing.
2. Now pour a teaspoon of sugar on top.  The sugar will dissolve into the water but not over flow the cup.
3. Add in more teaspoons of sugar waiting a little bit between each one and the cup will not over flow.  See how many teaspoons you can get in before it overflows.

Mixed Drinks

Now we know oil and water doesn’t mix, what about other liquids?  These liquids will mix together but we can layer them.  Because these drinks of different amounts of sugar the ones with lighter amounts of sugar in them will sit on top of heavier sugar content ones until stirred.  Since 4^th of July is coming up we will do red, white, and blue.  You can do these drinks with other colors/flavors just check the sugar content, the heaviest sugar content drink will go on bottom.

Supplies:

• White Sobe Pina colada drink
• Red CranApple juice
• Blue Gatorade
• Ice

Directions:

1. Fill your cup about 1/3 of the way with CranApple juice.
2. Fill to the top with ice.
3. Slowly pour in the Pina Colada Sobe
4. Finish by slowly pouring in the blue Gatorade.