Essential Element: EE.MS-PS3-3
This is a DLM tested standard.
Target Level: Test and refine a device (e.g., foam cup, insulated box, or thermos) to either minimize or maximize thermal energy transfer (e.g., keeping liquids hot or cold, preventing liquids from freezing, keeping hands warm in cold temperatures).
Precursor Level: Investigate objects/materials, and predict their ability to maximize or minimize thermal energy transfer.
Initial Level: Identify objects/materials used to minimize or maximize thermal energy transfer (e.g., gloves, vacuum flask, insulated hot pad holder or foam cup).
Precursor Level: Investigate objects/materials, and predict their ability to maximize or minimize thermal energy transfer.
Initial Level: Identify objects/materials used to minimize or maximize thermal energy transfer (e.g., gloves, vacuum flask, insulated hot pad holder or foam cup).
Reading Resources:
Vocabulary
Matter - Anything that has weight and takes up space.
Law of Conservation of Matter - Tells us that the amount of matter stays the same even when a substance changes form.
Dissolve - To mix in with another substance. For example: when salt is added to water, it forms saltwater.
Gram - A scientific unit of measuring how heavy something is. A US dollar bill weights about 1 gram.
Dry ice - A solid form of carbon dioxide that is very cold and turns directly from a solid into a gas.
Conserve - Saved, kept the same.
Law of Conservation of Matter - Tells us that the amount of matter stays the same even when a substance changes form.
Dissolve - To mix in with another substance. For example: when salt is added to water, it forms saltwater.
Gram - A scientific unit of measuring how heavy something is. A US dollar bill weights about 1 gram.
Dry ice - A solid form of carbon dioxide that is very cold and turns directly from a solid into a gas.
Conserve - Saved, kept the same.
Conservation of Matter Activity for Kids
Material List
How It WorksInitially, the colored water sits at the bottom of the bottle because it is more dense than oil. When the fizzy tablets are dropped in, they mix with the water and a chemical reaction happens producing carbon dioxide gas. The gas rises up and drags droplets of colored water with it. Eventually, the droplets fall back down. This happens over and over, making it look like a lava lamp. It is important to remember that the tablets don't disappear, they simply change form - they make gas which is trapped in the balloon and they also dissolve into the water. We can't see the tablets when it is done but the weight is the same thanks to the law of conservation of matter!
- 1Funnel
- 1Clear bottle (1L or larger)
- 1Cup of water
- 1Liter of vegetable oil (enough to fill the bottle)
- 1Tube of food coloring
- 4Fizzy tablets (such as Alka-Seltzer®)
- 1Scale
- 1Balloon
- 1Fill the bottle about ¼ full with water.
- 2Add 5–6 drops of food coloring and swirl.
- 3Tilt the bottle and slowly fill the rest of it with vegetable oil using the funnel.
- 4Weigh the bottle and its contents, the balloon, and the fizzy tablets all together.
- 5Break the tablets in half and quickly drop the pieces into the bottle.
- 6Immediately stretch the balloon over the top of the bottle to seal it.
- 7When the action stops, weigh the bottle with balloon still on it.
How It WorksInitially, the colored water sits at the bottom of the bottle because it is more dense than oil. When the fizzy tablets are dropped in, they mix with the water and a chemical reaction happens producing carbon dioxide gas. The gas rises up and drags droplets of colored water with it. Eventually, the droplets fall back down. This happens over and over, making it look like a lava lamp. It is important to remember that the tablets don't disappear, they simply change form - they make gas which is trapped in the balloon and they also dissolve into the water. We can't see the tablets when it is done but the weight is the same thanks to the law of conservation of matter!
