Approximate time to complete: 10-15 minutes + questions and journal time
Experiment Card
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Purpose
We know that oil and water do not mix … but then how do we clean things with oil on them? I wonder what will happen if we add soap to the mixture.
Materials
- Test tube with cap
- Oil
- Water
- Soap
- Pipette
Procedure
- Using your pipette, fill your test tube ¼ full with water. Then, fill your test tube to the halfway point with oil.
- Put the cap on your test tube, and vigorously shake. Observe what happens.
- Take the cap off of your test tube, and add 1 drop of soap to your mixture.
- Put the cap back on, and vigorously shake. Observe what happens.
Questions & Further Research
- What happened when you tried to mix oil and water? What happened when you added soap?
- How do you think soap works?
- What is an emulsion? Hint: this experiment involves emulsion.
