We read about this Science density experiment and decided to try it ourselves. It turned out to be one of the most fun Science experiments that we have done in a while. The results are eye-catching too. It can be done by kids independently from around age 7 and if supervised by adults, by kids around age 3.

The great thing about this experiment is that it only requires 3 simple ingredients.

Ingredients:

  • 10 tablespoons of sugar
  • 4 different food coloring colors
  • 20 tablespoons of water

Equipment List:

  • 4 cups
  • 1 thin glass container like a test tube or tall, thin vase
  • 4 spoons to mix liquids
  • A pipette, turkey baster, syringe or straw

Steps:

  1. Line up your 4 cups.
  2. Put 1 tablespoon of sugar into the first cup.
  3. Put 2 tablespoons of sugar into the second cup.
  4. Put 3 tablespoons of sugar into the third cup.
  5. Put 4 tablespoons of sugar into the fourth cup.
  6. Add 5 tablespoons of water into each cup. Remember to take note of the order of your cups as to which has the most sugar in it. The one with the most sugar in it (fourth cup) will need to be at the bottom of your thin glass container.
  7. Decide the order in which you want your colors from your 4 food coloring bottles arranged in the thin glass container.
  8. Add one to two drops of food coloring into each cup. Remember that the bottom color has to go into the fourth cup (the one with most sugar in it), followed by the next color into the third cup and so on.
  9. Use your spoons to mix the concoction in each cup. You probably will need to stir for quite a while until the sugar melts completely. Don’t mix the spoons to avoid mixing the colors.
  10. Using your pipette, baster, syringe or straw, slowly pipe drops of the liquid from your fourth cup (the one with most sugar in it) into your glass container. Try to point your pipette, baster, syringe or straw as far down your glass container as you can to avoid the liquid touching the sides of the container (to avoid color mixing).
  11. Next, do the same thing with your third cup. Remember to release the drops gently and slowly to avoid color mixing.
  12. Repeat with your remaining two cups.
  13. You should end up with a result that looks like this.

Science Lesson:

Sugar affects the density of each liquid concoction. The more sugar in the liquid, the more dense the liquid and it will sink to the bottom.

Sometimes, your colors may mix a little bit initially when you start piping the drops but if your sugar amounts were sufficiently different in each cup, the density in each cup will eventually cause the colors to separate itself out.