Science Smarts: Mixing it up, or not
By PATTY ROOKS on August 26, 2023.
Do I dare say it…truly, it is hard to ignore any longer, there are signs everywhere – especially in the stores …BACK TO SCHOOL! It is that time once again, I know that many of you are busy preparing, so I thought I would share a favourite “ice breaker” to get students thinking and back into the swing of things those first days of school. Let’s get started! *Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials Two identical glasses Hot water (tap) Cold water Blue food colouring Red food colouring Index card or playing card to go over the mouth of the glass Procedure 1. Fill one glass with cold water (as full as you can get it). Add a couple of drops of blue food colouring and stir well. 2. Take the second glass and fill with hot tap water. Add a couple of drops of red food colouring and stir well. 3. Place the card over the entire mouth of the glass of cold water. Place your hand over it, holding it securely in place. 4. Carefully flip this over and rest the upside down glass (and card) on the glass full of hot water. 5. Gently pull the card out. 6. Observe. What is going on? Did you know density is affected by temperature? The hotter a material is the less dense it becomes because as it heats up, it expands and the distance between the particles increases. This is why you should have observed the hot water floating up in to the glass of cold water. It is amazing to observe as you should be able to see the two currents passing each other with little mixing of the colours! Mark your calendars as the Praxis AGM will be on Friday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.. We are always in need of volunteers and board members. For more info, please contact Patty. Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca. 23-22
