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Smart Cheli

Lava Lamp

Grades

Grade 6-8

Subjects

Science & Technology, Engineering, Physics

Tags

Engineering

Motion

Physics

Forces

Overview

Students create their own lava lamp using only oil, water, dark food coloring, and a fizzy vitamin-C tablet. They predict how the liquids will behave, imagine and draw their design, then build it layer by layer and test what happens with a half tablet versus a whole one. Along the way, they discover why oil and water don't mix and how carbon dioxide bubbles lift colored water to the top, a hands-on lesson in density and chemical reactions.