Ten science experiments you can do with a plastic bottle – Part 1

Ten science experiments you can do with a plastic bottle – Part 1

Do you love science and want to try out some experiments yourself? Do you worry that you’ll need special equipment and expensive kits? FEAR NOT! There are so many science experiments you can do with things you have around your home RIGHT NOW! Just remember to always ask an adult’s permission. Finish drinking your water and save that bottle because we are going to share TEN amazing experiments with you… you’ll never look at a plastic bottle in the same way again!

A few months ago I promised to share ten experiments you can do with a simple plastic bottle. If you have been following me on Face Book you will have noticed that I have shared one every week and we reached ten no problem; I’ve compiled all the instruction videos here so that you can pick and choose which ones you want to do (or, even better, try all ten).

The reason I started this was because I was sick of seeing science experiment kits full of rubbish (I am not saying all science kits are rubbish, but I have seen my fair share lately). I wanted to show you that you can do plenty of science experiments from things you have around your own home. And what better example to use than a simple, humble, plastic bottle. A great example of reusing and recycling.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL THESE EXPERIMENTS REQUIRE ADULT SUPERVISION!

Without further ado… here are first five Science Experiments you can do with a plastic bottle:

  1. make a fire extinguisher

 

2. Inflate a balloon

 

 

3. The Sneezing Alien Experiment

 

4. and 5. Ocean in a bottle experiment and Lava Lamp experiment

 

Those are the first five experiments. Have lots of fun with them, check back next week for the next five experiments. Remember to keep those bottles!

As always, we love to get comments and feedback so do let us know if you try some of these experiments; we’d love to know how you get on, did you make some of your own modifications and improvements to the experiments? Would you like us to share more video experiments?

 

A Simple Slice of Science – Why is the sea salty?

A Simple Slice of Science – Why is the sea salty?

This week’s question for Dr. Simple came in from a little boy who has just turned five and sometimes goes by the name of Spidey (you might find him here); He wants to know…

Why is the sea salty?

This is a great question  and Dr. Simple was delighted to “dive right in” and answer it!

Before Dr. Simple gets stuck in it might be a good idea to look at the definition of a sea and an ocean. Dr. Simple will use the word sea to mean both, which is commonly done, but there is actually a difference between the two words…

“seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet. Typically, seas are partially enclosed by land.”

 

SaltySea

Fun Friday – how to make an ocean in a bottle

Fun Friday – how to make an ocean in a bottle

It is a simple and easy Fun Friday experiment today – how to make an ocean in a bottle

 

All you need for this experiment is…

  • an empty clear plastic bottle (a 1 or 2L soft drink bottle will work fine)
  • water
  • cooking oil (any kind)
  • Blue food colouring
  • A funnel

 

What you do…

  1. Using the funnel fill the plastic bottle about one third full with water
  2. Add a few drops of food colouring to colour the water blue
  3. Using the funnel again fill the bottle with the oil (you will notice that the water and oil will quickly settle into two separate layers)
  4. Close the lid tightly on the bottle and turn the bottle on its side
  5. The water layer will be on the bottom of the bottle
  6. If you rock the bottle from side to side you can create a wave like motion of the water, looking just like a little ocean in a bottle; see what kind of waves you can make!

 

Ocean in a bottle
Ocean in a bottle

 

How does it work…

This is a good experiment to explain density. The oil is less dense than the water so it will sit on top of the water, creating two separate layers. The layer of oil keeps the water contained within the bottom half of the water and makes the movement of the water look like waves where the two liquids meet.

I have discussed density in more detail in this previous post as well as sharing lots more density experiments.

If you get bored of your ocean in a bottle, why not stand it upright again and add some Alka Seltzer tablets to instantly turn it into a lava lamp!

 

Enjoy!