A simple Lava Lamp can be made at home with water, oil, some food coloring and Alka-Seltzer tablets. Pour water in the bottom of the bottle and oil on the top, they will separate naturally. Then, put a few drops of food coloring into the bottle. Drop in part of an Alka-Seltzer tablet. The Alka-Seltzer will dissolve in the water, releasing Carbon Dioxide bubbles which will mix the water, oil and food coloring as they rise, creating a neat effect. You can troubleshoot your homemade lava lamp by experimenting with different proportions of water, oil, coloring and Alka-Seltzer.
- Empty 16 oz. soda bottle
- Vegetable oil
- Food coloring
- Alka-Seltzer tablets
- Paper
- Pencil or Pen
- Stopwatch
- Flashlight
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Instructions
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1
Determine what proportions you are going to test and make a data sheet for yourself to record results. You can vary proportions of water to oil as well as the amount of food coloring and Alka-Seltzer you put in.
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2
Run your experiment. Use your stopwatch to time how long each combination bubbles.
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3
Once you have determined the best combination of ingredients, you can enjoy your lava lamp. Put the ingredients in the bottle, put a high-powered flashlight underneath and enjoy!
