Have you ever heard the phrase ‘oil and water don’t mix’? Well, one of our Grade 1 students and his mum taught a Science lesson to his class this week that explored what would happen if you mixed honey, juice and oil. The children learned that these liquids don’t mix to make a solution.  They also explored if objects floated or sunk in the mixtures. The experiment was great fun, especially as the children got to work in partners and carry it out themselves. Pouring the liquids into the containers was a bit tricky and they discovered that they needed to pour it in very carefully. After shaking all the containers, it was amazing to see how the liquids had separated again at the end of the day. Click on to find out more about the science behind this phenomenon and to try out an online investigation.
“Miscibility†describes how well two substances mix. Honey, juice and oil are said to be “immiscible,†because they do not mix. The different liquids layer on top each other because of the difference in their density (The density of a substance is the ratio of its mass (weight) to its volume) The oil is less dense than the juice and so is on top. The honey is more dense than the juice so is on the bottom.
Our older students might like to investigate this topic further by exploring viscosity. Viscosity is the measure of ‘thickness’ of a liquid. Water is “thin”, having a lower viscosity, while honey is “thick” having a higher viscosity.
The Viscosity Explorer is an online experiment that lets you see how viscosity varies from liquid to liquid and how temperature affects viscosity. You can
* compare two differet liquids with each other
* test the same liquid at two different temperatures
Please remember to ask an adult first if you want to do an experiment with real liquids at home.