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    Home » Science Experiments for Kids » Chemistry » Exploring Viscosity

    Exploring Viscosity

    October 9, 2013 By Emma Vanstone 4 Comments

    What do you put on your porridge?

    We noticed that sometimes our honey and golden syrup take a long time to pour, whereas water and milk pour almost too fast.

    We’ve done viscosity experiments before by letting the liquids flow down an inclined board.

    In this viscosity experiment we attempt to refine the procedure by comparing fluids by dropping a marble through them. This is also a great opportunity to practice drawing and using tables, as well as making predictions beforehand.

     Viscosity experiment

    Materials

    1. marble – washed clean so that we don’t waste the fluids we’re dropping it through

    2. A selection of fluids of differing “thickness”.  We used

    Honey

    Water

    Golden Syrup

    Oil

    3. A container tall enough to measure the time the marble passes between two points

    4. A stopwatch

    5. A spoon to retrieve the marble.

    Method

    • Fill your container with the fluid under investigation.  Make two marks on the container which we will use to start and stop the stopwatch with. As you fill the containers notice how easily the liquid pours, can you use this information to make predications about  how viscous each one is?
    • Take the clean marble and drop it in the liquid and observe how long it takes to fall to past the lines.  Do a couple of practice runs just to get a feel for how long the marble takes.
    • Make a table on a piece of paper (or on a board) to record your results with a column for each fluid and space underneath to write the times the marbles take.

    Viscosity experiment

    • To make your observations simply drop the marble into the fluid and using the stopwatch try to time the marble as it crosses each of the marks (i.e. start the watch as it passes the first line and stop it as it passes the second line).  After each drop retrieve the marble and clean and dry it ready for the next run.  Do the marble drop 3 times for each fluid. *note, we used a magnet to retrieve the marble*

    The faster times should correspond to the least viscous liquids?

    Viscosity experiment

     

    Do your results match your expectations?

     

    Last Updated on January 27, 2014 by Emma Vanstone

    « Fun with mixing with some help from Learning Resources
    Make some spooky noises »

    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. jimin

      June 16, 2018 at 7:24 pm

      explore and compare the viscosity of various liquids

      Reply

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