Learn how to make a density tower! A fun science experiment that can easily be done at home with items that are likely in your cupboard.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

  • Clear container (tall glass or cup)
  • Small mixing cups
  • Dish soap
  • Milk
  • Corn (or sugar) syrup
  • Food dye
  • Eye dropper (optional)

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

  • Place equal amounts of each different liquid into small separate cups.
  • Add green food dye to the cup with the dish soap and add red food dye into the cup with the corn syrup.
  • Once completely mixed, pour ONLY the red corn syrup into your tall clear container first (so it will sit on the bottom).
  • Next, SLOWLY pour in the milk or use an eye dropper to add little amounts at a time. This will help prevent the liquids from mixing too much.
  • Slowly add the green dish soap to be the last layer.

Note: When pouring the liquids, try to aim for the center of the container to also prevent mixing. It’s okay if they mix a little, the layers will always even themselves out because of the varying densities.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT:

Density is a measure of how tightly packed the molecules are in an object (in this case our liquids). The same amount (volume) of these three different liquids will have different weights because they have different masses (amount of molecules). The liquids that weigh more have a higher density with tightly packed molecules and will sink below the liquids that weigh less which have a lower density with more spread out molecules.

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