Las Americas Institute Education for Life

Science II

Science Fair 2010 Weightless drop

Carmen Hernndez Snchez, Guadalupe Jazmn Cancino Guerrero y Eduardo Baca

Material:
y y y y

A big glass. A Little porcelain capsule Alcohol. Olive oil.

Opening:
We went on a tour of outer space, and we wonder why the substances and objects were floating in the spaceship. We wanted to see how we could simulate it here on earth and we found the perfect formula, for a substance brought from our trip, it will be done magically like floating in other substances, in order to overcome gravity. We got the necessary ingredients, and here we will show you.

Method:
1. 2. 3. 4. Fill the capsule of porcelain with olive oil and place it in the bottom of the glass. Alcohol must be added, with caution, so that the capsule is completely submerged in it. Then gradually we will add water by the vessel walls. The oil surface becomes more prominent, until the oil is taken off and oil takes the spherical shape, it is suspended in the mixture of alcohol and water.

Scientific Basis:

What we have observed is an experiment that demonstrates the spherical liquid shape and also demonstrates one of the intensive properties of matter, density, which is the amount of mass in a volume and allows us to identify a substance; in this experiment we saw how we can change it so a substance is suspended in another.

We always think that liquids dont have shape, but all liquids have spherical shape, we dont realize it because gravity doesnt allow us, doing that it takes the shape of the container that is land filled. Then in a liquid of the same density, it loses weight and adopts a spherical shape. Lets see the densities of the three liquids: water (1 gram / milliliter), oil (0.92 g / ml) and alcohol (0.79 g / ml). Olive oil floats on water because it has less density, but it sinks in alcohol because it has a higher density, then you can prepare a mixture of water and alcohol. This has the same density as the oil, then, the oil does not float in the surface or sink to the bottom. Oil acquires spherical shape because in nature it is the most stable.

Conclude by asking the spectators if they have a doubt or if they want to add any comment and thank them for their time and attention.