Materials
4 clear plastic cups Water
Food coloring: red, blue, green, yellow Cooking oil
White construction paper cut into 2" x 4" (2.5 cm x 5 cm) strips Tray
Instructions
1. Place four clear plastic cups on a tray and pour water into the cups until they are half full.
2. Add a different food color to each cup and pour 1/4 " (6 mm) cooking oil on top of the coloredwater.
3. Have the children predict what color a strip of paper will be when it is dipped into a cup,then select a child to dip the paper into the selected cup. Repeat the process with the othercups.
4. Encourage the children to observe what happened to the strip and ask them why it did notturn the color of the water in the cup.
5. Point out the layers of oil and water in the plastic cup. Help the children reach the conclusionthat because the strip was first covered with oil, the colored water would not adhere to it (oiland water do not mix).More to doMore science: Ask a child to shake a bottle of oil-based salad dressing. Observe what happens.Point out how the water and oil will separate again after a few minutes.Outdoors: Observe a puddle in a driveway or parking lot that forms over oil after it rains.
