Lava Lamp

Overview:

In this experiment, students will learn how to make their own lava lamp at home! The experiment will take no more than five minutes and uses minimal household items.

Time: 

5-8 minutes

Lesson Materials:

*You can use the document in the link below to either: tailor the experiment to your needs or to have a printable version of this lesson plan*

Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

The plan is editable and printable. Copy the Google Doc in your own drive and make edits or you can just print.

Lava Lamp Lesson Video:

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this experiment, students will be able to:

  1. Build their own colorful lava lamp from the comfort of their own home.
  2. Analyze the outcome of oil and water combining.
  3. Identify the effect of the alka seltzer in the experiment.

Materials Needed:

  • Water, about 1 cup.
  • Vegetable oil, 2+ cups depending on the size of your jar/bottle.
  • 3-5 drops of food coloring
  • Alka seltzer tablets/picot crushed tablets. Half of the packet.
  • Multiple colors of food coloring (optional)
  • Any other oil such as avocado or olive oil (optional)

Experimental Methods:

  1. Fill a glass container/bottle, more than halfway with vegetable oil. 
  2. Next, add water to the container until it reaches almost to the top.
  3. With the food coloring of your choice, add 3-5 drops into the bottle.
  4. Break the Alka seltzer into 3-4 pieces and one by one drop it into the bottle.
  5. When the oil meets the water, you should see clear bubbles forming and going to the top.
  6. As the reaction of the Alka seltzer slows down, you may add a bit more to see more activity.
    • Using a bigger glass bottle/container will appear more similar to an actual lava lamp.
    • Students can add a bit more oil after the water, and instead of using Alka seltzer, add a tablespoon of table salt.
    • Although, the bubbles emerge slower with salt.

Variations:

  • You may add multiple colors of food coloring or more drops of a single color if you’d like.

Questions to Think About:

  1. Why do oil and water not mix?
  2. Why does the lava lamp begin to fizz when adding the tablets?
  3. Why are the roads on rainy days a rainbow color?

Chemistry:

  1. Water weighs more than oil, meaning it carries more density. The oil then floats.
  2. Polarity prevents the two substances from forming mixing.
  3. When the seltzer tablets meet the water they create carbon dioxide gas.

Society:

Water naturally carries more density than oil, when it comes to cooking you can notice it as well. Cooking is in our everyday lives and the science behind it gives a better understanding with this experiment.

Logistics:

STEAM Subjects: 

Science (Chemistry) and Art

Science Vocabulary: 

Density, polarity, morphing

References

  1. Kelowna Capital News
  2. Scientific American
  3. Home Science Tools

Funding:

CSU Internal Funding Sources:

  • IRA (Instructionally Related Activities Fund)
  • Faculty Small Grant

External Funding Sources:

  • Adobe