The young scientists are anticipating an exciting year ahead as they prepare to learn more about the world around them. Already they have learned that science is the study of our natural world. Stay tuned throughout the year to see for yourself what our young scientists are learning through observation and experimentation.

Today our students learned three important scientific principles: All matter in our world can be categorized as solid, liquid or gas. Different liquids can have different densities. The molecules are more compact in some substances than others.
In our first experiment, our scientists poured equal amounts of oil, water and syrup into a large glass. Some had guessed that the liquids would all mix, others guessed that the liquids would separate. In the end, we learned that the syrup, the most dense liquid, sunk to the bottom. Water sat in the middle, and oil rose to the top.	As a bonus, we decided to drop some solids into our solution. After making hypotheses, we found the penny to lie on the bottom of all the liquids, a lego brick to sit on top of the water, and a wood chip to float on top of the oil. Here's what the children had to say: "The penny was more dense than all the liquids." "The lego is heavier than the oil but not as dense as the syrup." "The liquids are all more dense than the wood chip."
To learn more about solids, liquids and their densities, we experimented with an egg in a large glass of fresh water. As we slowly added salt to the water, the egg began to rise to the top! Why did it happen? Salt dissolved in water increases the density of water. Denser liquids are better at keeping objects afloat. This is why many things that sink in fresh water will float in salt water.

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Last update: 1-17-01/mgl