Polarity: 

• Having two oppositely charged poles. 

• Water molecules are polar because their electrical charge attracts other atoms. 

• The end of a molecule with two hydrogen atoms is positively charged, but the other end that has oxygen on the end is negatively charged. Like H2O, hydrogen on the other and oxygen on the other side. 

• Just like magnets, the north poles are attracted to south poles, basically opposites attract. The positive end of the molecule will attach with the negative molecules. 

• Oil molecules are non-polar. They don’t have a negative nor positive charge, so they are not attracted to other water molecules! This is why when adding oil into the water for the lava lamp experiment, they don’t mix. 

Density: 

• The measurement on how compact the substance is. 

• If you measure water and oil for density, water is heavier than oil. 

• Because water is more dense than oil, when you put the two in a container, the oil will sink to the bottom.

Buoyancy: 

• If it sinks or floats. 

• The oil is positive buoyancy because it floats. 

• Neutral buoyancy is when it neither sinks or floats. 

• Negative Buoyancy is when it sinks. 

• Positive buoyancy is when it floats. 

Procedure: 

• Fill the jar half-way with oil (can be vegetable, sunflower, or canola)

• Add water until the jar is about three-quarters full.

• Add 5-10 drops of food coloring. (10 is reccomended) 

• Put the alka-seltzer tablet in the jar! 

Sources used: 

How to Make a Lava Lamp

https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-a-homemade-lava-lamp-science-project/ 

Lava Lamp Experiment - Minnesota Children's Museum

https://mcm.org/lava-lamp-experiment/ 

Lesson 5.1: Water is a Polar Molecule - American Chemical Society   

https://www.acs.org/middleschoolchemistry/lessonplans/chapter5/lesson1.html  

Credits to Tobu for the music, Bliss. 

Tobu - Bliss.