Lava lamp lab: 02/23/2021

 This week my classmates and I gained a better understanding of chemical reactions. We learned that a chemical reaction is defined as two or more molecules interacting and changing. In a reaction there are products and reactants. In order for it to be a reaction the product must be chemically different from the reactants. 

Materials:

Kid’s test tube and cap

Vegetable oil

Water

½ Alka-Seltzer tablet

5 drops food coloring

Lab: As we began to make the lava lamp my partner and I first filled the test tube about 3/4 of the way with vegetable oil. Next we added one cap full of water to the tube along with 5 drops of blue food coloring. Following this we added 1/2 of an Alka-Seltzer tablet then shook the test tube lightly. Once the chemical reaction began to take place we noticed a few changes. The food coloring seemed to be moving through the oil in small bubbles. Also, we noticed small bubbles of CO2 that seemed to be coming from the Alka-Seltzer tablet. With further research we found this reaction to be a convection current. This causes liquids and gases to move because of changes in density. The photos below are the results.