Lava Lamp Craft

Materials

• Clean plastic bottle
• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Fizzing tablet (Alka Seltzer)
• Food colouring

Instructions

1. Fill bottle 1/4 full with water
2. Pour in vegetable oil until bottle is halfway full
3. Add a few drops of food colouring (watch as colour sinks through the oil)
4. Break fizz tablet in half and drop in part of it, see the bubbly blobs
5. Put a flashlight underneath and turn lights off for more excitement

How does it work?

The oil floats on top of the water because it is less dense or lighter than water. The food coloring has the same density as the water so it sink through the oil and mixes with the water. When you add the tablet it sinks to the bottom then starts to dissolve. As it dissolves it makes gas, carbon dioxide. Gas or air, is lighter than water so it floats to the top. The air bubbles bring some colored water with them to the top. When the air comes out of the colored water blob, the water gets heavy again and sinks. It does this over and over again until the tablet is completely dissolved.