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Abby Weitkamp

Honors/AP Chemistry

Hays

27 September 2016

Lava Lamp Lab

Purpose Statement

Explain why certain substances will react with water, but not oil.

Partners

Madeline Crowley

Sana Navaid

Pre- Lab

IMF- attractions between molecules

3 IMFs

Dispersion Forces

Weakest

All molecules

Caused by weak attractions due to partial charges

One side is positive, the other is negative

Heavier, longer molecules have stronger forces

Smaller molecules do not hold themselves together

Dipole Forces
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Formed between POLAR molecules

Caused by permanent charge shift

One side will always have a slight negative/positive charge

Hydrogen Bonding

Strongest IMF

H attracted to N, O, or F that already has a H on it

Dipole Forces and Hydrogen Bonding are basically the same by Hydrogen Bonding is

more specific

Materials and Equipment

Materials

Water

Vegetable Oil

Food Coloring

Antacid Tablets

Equipment

(2) 100-mL Erlenmeyer flasks

200-mL beaker

Stirring rod

Procedure

1. Fill Erlenmeyer flask A with 100-mL of water.

2. Fill Erlenmeyer flask B with 100-mL of vegetable oil.

3. Combine the water from flask A with the vegetable oil from flask B in a 200-mL beaker.
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4. Add 3 drops of food coloring to the solution in the beaker.

5. Stir the solution using a stirring rod.

6. Observe what occurs in the water and vegetable oil after the food coloring has been

mixed in.

7. Add one antacid tablet and observe what occurs in the solution.

8. Add another antacid tablet and observe what occurs.

9. Add 3 more drops of food coloring and observe what occurs.

Observations

The water sinks to the bottom when combined with the vegetable oil in the beaker.

When adding 3 drops of food coloring, the drops sit at the bottom of the oil and the top of

the water.

After stirring up the food coloring, the water changed colors but the vegetable oil

remained the same color.

When the antacid tablet was first added, it sunk to the bottom where the water was and

quickly began to dissolve.

As the antacid tablet dissolved, it released carbon dioxide bubbles which floated up into

the vegetable oil where they stuck to the side of the beaker or released into the air when

they reach the top of the solution.

The bubbles in the oil are more pronounced than those in the water.

After adding another antacid tablet, the solution fizzed over the top of the beaker.

After adding 3 more drops of of food coloring, the color of the solution became darker

but there were drops of food coloring that did not fully dissolve into the solution.
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Conclusion

Lab Questions

1. The water has a higher density. This is known because the water sunk to the bottom when

combined with vegetable oil in the beaker.

2. The food coloring mixes with the water evenly but not in the oil. There was also a fine

layer of food coloring at the top of the vegetable oil.

3. There is a chemical reaction because carbon dioxide was released in the form of bubbles.

4. Yes, the tablet did interact differently with the oil than it did with the water. In the water,

the tablet was activated and created small bubbles that quickly floated to the top.

However, in the oil, the bubbles grew larger but slowed down and either stuck to the side

of the beaker or were released into the air.

5. When food coloring is dropped on the liquids, it sinks to the bottom of the oil but stays in

the small drops. When it enters the water, it slowly blends in as it sinks to the bottom.

6. Water is polar, therefore, the food coloring also has to be polar. This means that the

vegetable oil must be nonpolar because the food coloring didnt bond with it. The

intermolecular forces around the water are hydrogen bonds. There is slight hydrogen

bond in oil but oil mainly consists of individual molecules.

7. Yes, intermolecular forces aler a compounds ability to react because it causes molecules

to be polar. Polar molecules bond with other polar molecules and nonpolar molecules

cannot bond with polar molecules. This was seen in the lab when the water bonded with

the food coloring.

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8. Oil and water have opposite intermolecular forces. They seem to mix at the border

between them because they have the ability to bond together. However, the waters

hydrogen bonding was stronger, so the oil couldnt bond with all of the water molecules.

Syllabus Questions

1. This lab demonstrated the effects of intermolecular forces relating to polarity. Yes, we

achieved the desired purpose of understanding how intermolecular forces can create a

lava lamp on a smaller scale.

2. The results for this lab were not data, but observations. We discovered that oil and water

dont mix because they have opposite intermolecular forces and different polarities. The

food coloring mixed with the water because they have the same polarities.

3. One possible source of error is if you mix the water and the oil for an extended period of

time because the antacid tablet will not have the same effect. Another is if the ratio of

water to oil is extremely uneven, it may cause a different effect in how the food coloring

bonds with water and how the antacid tablet reacts.

4. From this experiment, I learned that intermolecular forces play a large role in the bonding

between compounds. Stronger intermolecular forces will bond together instead of with a

weaker intermolecular force. Also, molecules of the same polarity will bond together.

Part of the Description Points Points

Lab Earned Possible

Pre-Lab Answered all question in lab document as 60 60

Assignment instructed; questions are answered correctly

Pre-Lab Included in the lab notebook: name, lab title, date, 10 10

Checklist name(s) of lab partner(s), purpose statement,
materials list
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Procedure Procedure is listed concisely and clearly. 10 10

Corrections are made to note any changes in the
given procedure.

Data All data is clearly listed or is in table format. Data 10 10

is labeled with appropriate units.

Neatness All information is legible, easy to read, and easy to 10 10

follow

Data Analysis Data analysis includes sample calculations when 50 50

necessary. All work is shown, with answers
clearly marked and in correct units.

Conclusion All conclusion/post lab questions are answered in 50 50

complete sentences.
Grade - 200/200 = 100