Explosion of colors
3-12 years old
Easy
5-30 min
For the experiment, you will need:
- Milk
- Food coloring
- Dish soup
- Cotton swabs
- Glass
- Plate
1. Materials for the experiment
Prepare the necessary materials for the experiment.
Tip: Dilute the food coloring with water to make it thinner.
2. Milk in a plate
Pour a little milk into the plate.
3. Coloring
Drop some food coloring of your desired colors into the center of the plate.
4. Dish soup
Add a little dish soap to a glass and dip a cotton swab in it.
5. Explosion of colors
Touch the food coloring in the center of the plate with the cotton swab and watch as the milk changes colors.
How does it work?
The secret lies in the drop of dish soap. Why does it clean dishes so well? Soap molecules have two ends: hydrophilic, which loves water; and hydrophobic, which fears water but attaches to fat molecules. When washing dishes with soap, the hydrophobic end attaches to the grease, thus removing dirt.
During the milk explosion, the soap combines with the fat and protein molecules in the milk, creating colorful explosions. The soap, grabbing the fats and proteins, causes rapid movement of the molecules – this is why we can observe the explosion of colors!
