Fill a container up with water and pour a small amount of cooking oil into the c

Question

Fill a container up with water and pour a small amount of cooking oil into the container.
1.) What do you notice about the oil?
2.) Where does the oil go and what does it do?

Now take a popsicle stick and dip it into the water and oil to represent a marine animal accidentally swimming througfh an oil spill.
3.) Describe how the popsicle stick looks and feels.

Now, try to clean off the popsicle stick by dipping it into a glass of water.
4.) Does the oil come off?

Add dish washing soap like dish liquid to your glass of water.Dip the stick in the glass again to try to clean it off.
5.) Does the oil come off?

Explanation / Answer

When cooking oil or any other oily substance is added into container filled with water - Oil doesn’t mix with the water due their differences in densities. - And oil will float on the surface of water as it is less dense than water. If a Popsicle stick which resembles a marine animal, is dipped into the water and oil then - The stick will float and in case of marine organism it will get suffocated and affects the health of organism by affecting respiration and metabolic activities. Now, if Popsicle stick is taken out and dipped into glass of water - The oil attached to the stick won’t come off. When dish liquid is added to glass of water then, - The oil attached to the stick will come off, as soap acts like an emulsifying agent which will suspend the oil and remove it.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse F
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.