Adventures with Atoms and Molecules: Do Molecules Move?

Materials Needed
Glass of Water
Food Coloring


Observations

In order to observe how molecules move through water, we used food coloring so that we could see the molecules move.





The molecules moved slowly through the water.  We waited and watched the food coloring slowly fall to the bottom then swirl and wiggle to the top and sides.


After 20 minutes, the entire glass of water became a uniform color of light blue.

Conclusions:

Molecules are so small that we can't see them, but we can see collections of molecules and observe how they move by using food coloring.  Molecules are constantly moving.  Liquid molecules move slowly and they wiggle and swirl to fill a space.

Resource Used for this Experiment:



Here's Another Great Resource:

Learning Chemistry with Sun Bread

Click to find out more about this book!

Sun Bread, written and illustrated by Elisa Kleven, is a wonderful story about a village of animals that became gloomy because the sun stopped shining.  Then, a baker discovered that the simple act of baking bread that "rises and shines" could make everyone happy, including the Sun.  This story is such a magical story and it even has the recipe for Sun Bread printed on the back of the book!  This is a wonderful way to introduce the chemical reaction yeast has with sugar during the process of baking!  So, we decided to learn by "doing" and made our own Sun Bread
(see photos below). If we can do it, so can you!

Before

After

Happiness

Sharing