Question:
Why is the sky blue? Why can you see further underwater in a pool than you can in a lake or an ocean? Why can you see distant objects clearly on some days, and on other days, they are shrouded in a haze?
Materials:
- Glass cups
- Water
- Corn Syrup
- Oil
- Baking Soda
- Sugar
- Food Coloring
- Stir bars
- Beakers and/or vials
- Spoons
- Flashlight
- Laser pointer
- Milk or milk powder
Instructions:
- Pour water, corn syrup, and oil individually into 3 beakers or vials. Inspect what happens when you shine a flashlight or a laser pointer through each liquid.
- Water down your milk or add a small amount of milk powder to water to get a translucent solution. Slowly pour the solution into a glass cup while shining a flashlight up through the bottom. Observer what happens to the light as you pour more liquid!
- Try mixing new liquids and solids and examine each with a flashlight and/or a laser pointer to determine how light passes through the new concoction. Try adding one thing at a time to understand what specifically makes light scatter.
- Discuss why some things scatter light and others do not. Do the solid additives scatter light equally in all liquids?