Science Smarts: Build the rainbow, observe the rainbow

By Medicine Hat News on March 9, 2024.

I do not know about you, but I could use a little good luck! With that being said, St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching and what better way to get lucky than celebrate with Leprechauns, rainbow and pots of gold…all kidding aside, I know that many classrooms are looking for activities to coincide with the holidays so I thought I would share this favourite of mine. Let’s get started!

* Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

• water

• seven clear plastic cups

• red food colouring

• yellow food colouring

• blue food colouring

• sturdy work surface

• marker

• spoon

• scissors

• paper towel

Procedure

1. Line all seven cups up on the counter.

2. Using the marker number the cups 1-7.

3. Fill cups #1, #3, #5 and #7 three quarters full of water.

4. In cup #1 AND #7, add about 10 drops of RED food colouring and stir well with the spoon.

5. Add 10 drops of YELLOW food colouring to cup #3 and stir it well.

6. In cup #5 add 10 drops of BLUE food colouring and use the spoon stir well.

7. Tear seven sheets of paper towel off the roll.

8. Fold one sheet in half lengthwise and then in half again. Fold in the middle and place one end of the paper towel in cup #1 and the other “leg of the paper towel in cup #2 (the empty cup).

9. Repeat this step until you have what looks like a long worm of paper towels between the cups of coloured water and the empty cups.

10. Observe.

What is going on?

What you observed here was the water traveling through the paper towel fibres and literally walking into the empty glass beside it. The scientific term for this is capillary action. Did you know that this can be related to the plant cycle? In order for the plant to survive as water has to climb from the plant’s roots upwards to the rest of the plat and leaves as well!

Keep an eye out on our website for the Regional Science Fair registration as it is now open and the deadline is fast approaching. It will be on March 23 at Medicine Hat College. I hope to see you there!

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 11th Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca.

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