We have looked at how objects absorb water before. Today we are taking this a step further and trying to halt the process, and so investigate which materials are good absorbers and which are not. We’re going to do this with a fun and very simple absorbing experiment.
What you need:
- Sugar cubes
- Plate
- Water
- Food colouring
- Aluminium foil
- Cling film
- paper
- kitchen roll
Instructions
Add a few drops of food colouring to some water and pour onto the plate.
Add a stack of sugar cubes and observe what happens. The coloured water should move up the stack of cubes and eventually make them collapse.
Try adding a small sheet of foil on top of one sugar cube and stack some more on top. Does this stop the water reaching the top cubes?
Try the same with some cling film, and some paper or tissue. Which work the best?
Which falls down first?
The Science Bit
The water is absorbed by the sugar cubes as you can see by the colour rising up through the cubes.Our foil and cling film did stop the flow of water for a while, but eventually it found a way through. I think we cut the foil/clingfilm a little small. These were the last stacks to fall though. The paper absorbed the water easily and let it reach the cubes above. This is because paper is porous and lets water pass through it. The foil and clingfilm prevent water passing through.
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Susan Mann
June 11, 2012 at 3:11 pmVery interesting. x
Niamh Bevan
June 11, 2012 at 3:54 pmI’m sure the children loved watching the whole process but I’d be extremely interested to know how many 5 year olds were able to manage figuring out the cause for the sugar melting at different paces. It is within their grasp as I’m sure they’ve all handled kitchen paper, foil and cling film. Lots of children that age are smart enough to figure it out in those circumstances.
ScienceSparks
June 12, 2012 at 1:09 pmMy main aim with these investigations is to spark an interest in why things happen. I’m not necessarily all that bothered that my children understand fully the reasons behind it. I just want them to be curious about the world.
ScienceSparks
June 12, 2012 at 1:08 pmwe had soo much fun!
mom is the only girl
June 11, 2012 at 4:50 pmI like this idea! I was going to do the paper towel absorption experiment later today, now maybe I’ll do both!
Rebekah @ The Golden Gleam
June 12, 2012 at 4:16 amSuch a neat experiment!
ScienceSparks
June 12, 2012 at 1:07 pmits cool isn’t it?
heather at wordplayhouse®
June 12, 2012 at 1:10 pmThe sugar cubes are ideal for your experiment! The water absorbing shows so clearly for children, and it adds a little bit of fun to the science experimenting that you are using both sugar and color—2 things children really seem to love!
maggy, red ted art
June 14, 2012 at 5:20 pmWow, great fun… my kids would want to eat it! Wonder if I could make them wait until the end of the experiment!
Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy & Alissa
ScienceSparks
June 16, 2012 at 8:34 amYes I always remember sneaking the sugar cubes from my grandma’s bowl!
MaryAnne @ mama smiles
June 15, 2012 at 11:23 pmFantastic experiment! Tempted to buy some sugar cubes now…
ScienceSparks
June 16, 2012 at 8:31 amDo, because we shall be doing some more experiments with sugar cubes!
Natalie
June 20, 2012 at 1:20 amI love this, especially since the results are eatable and it’s very visual.
Beth
June 21, 2012 at 10:58 amWhat a cool experiment!! My kids would love this! Thanks for sharing on TGIF! Have a great week,
Beth =-)
ScienceSparks
June 24, 2012 at 2:28 pmThanks Beth!
lis
October 12, 2012 at 5:00 pmthe problem I encountered is that with most of the materials I tried, the bottom sugar cube collapsed well before the top cube got any moisture in it at all. so I turned the experiment upside down–stack two sugar cubes, lay a piece of plastic/foil/paper/fabric/whatever on top, then use an eyedropper to put water on top. this worked much better.
Amy
March 19, 2014 at 5:10 pmHow long does this experiment take? I only have one hour with my kids and was wondering if the water will make it through the sugar by then.