by, Nikki Pierce
Capillarity can be defined as, "a phenomenon in which a liquid's surface rises, falls, or becomes distorted in shape where it is in contact with a solid."
How can water possibly travel upwards...Is the water defying gravity???
Actually, it is capillarity that allows water to travel upward.
The water is more attracted to the fibers and tiny tubes and move upward along those fibers rather than towards the other water molecules.
Let's watch the water molecules climb the fibers through capillary action!!!
Lesson Plan: "Capillarity"
Grade Level: Grade 2
California Standards:
Science as Inquiry: Conduct investigations to observe and develp explanations of how capillarity and absoprtion are related.
Content Standard A: As a result of activities, all students should develop
- Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry.
- Understandings about scientific inquiry.
Physical Science: Experiment with water's capillarity action.
Content Standard B: As a result oftheir activities, all students should develop
- Understandings of properties and changes in properties in matter
- Motions and forces
- Transfer of energy
Life Science: Observe how special cells within a plant stem transport water.
Content Standard C: As a result of their activities all students should develop an
- Understandings of structure and function of living systems.
Objectives: To introduce the concept of capillarity. Water can travel upwards with capillary action. This is caused when water molecules travel up narrow tubes or fibers because they are more attracted to the solid surfaces than each other.
Materials: Coffee filtersm food coloring, water, cups, celery stalks, worksheets (celery grid).
Instructions:
Celery Stalk Experiment:
Put food coloring in 4 cups of water,
Place one stalk of celery in each cup. ( 1 celery stalk = 1 cup)
Then label 1 cup as 2 hours, 1 cup as 4 hours, 1 cup as 6 hours, and 1 cup as 8 hours.
After 2 hours talk the celery stalk out of cup 1.
Record your observations on the "Celery Grid" worksheet.
Do the same for each of the other 3 cups after the appropriate # of hours has passed.
After the 8 hours are completed take a knife (Adults should perform this step!) and cut the celery to barely reveal the fibers and capillaries in the outer skin of the celery stalk.
*What do you observe about the celery stalk?
The celery stalk shows the colored water visually travelling up the fibers.
*What differences do you observe about each individual celery stalk?
As time progressed the colored water had more time to travel farther and farther up the fibers and capillaries of the celery stalks.
Coffee Filter Experiment:
Examine the coffee filters closely.
*Can you see the tiny fibers in the coffee filters?
These tiny fibers are similar to the narrow tubes found in the celery.
They allow the water to travel through them with capillary action.
Fill a cup with only about 1 inch of water.
Using washable thick large markers decorate the coffee filter, but make sure the center of the coffee filter is left plain and blank.
After decorating the coffee filter folder the filter 4 times so it forms a triangular shape.
Place the coffee filter into the cup only allowing the tip of the triangle (which should be the center of the coffee filter) into the water.
To assure that only this portion of the filter comes into contract with the water, it may be beneficial to attach the coffee filter to the rim of the cup with tape or a paper clip.
*Is the water travelling up the coffee filter through the fibers?
*What is the water doing to the coffee filter?
The water is travelling up the fibers because of capillary action and slowly blurring the strokes of color made by the markers.
This makes a beautiful creation of decoration as flowers or butterflies in the classroom!
Sources: The Best of Wonder-Science. American Institute of Physics. Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wadsworth, 1997. 319.
Grade Level: Grade 2
California Standards:
Science as Inquiry: Conduct investigations to observe and develp explanations of how capillarity and absoprtion are related.
Content Standard A: As a result of activities, all students should develop
- Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry.
- Understandings about scientific inquiry.
Physical Science: Experiment with water's capillarity action.
Content Standard B: As a result oftheir activities, all students should develop
- Understandings of properties and changes in properties in matter
- Motions and forces
- Transfer of energy
Life Science: Observe how special cells within a plant stem transport water.
Content Standard C: As a result of their activities all students should develop an
- Understandings of structure and function of living systems.
Objectives: To introduce the concept of capillarity. Water can travel upwards with capillary action. This is caused when water molecules travel up narrow tubes or fibers because they are more attracted to the solid surfaces than each other.
Materials: Coffee filtersm food coloring, water, cups, celery stalks, worksheets (celery grid).
Instructions:
Celery Stalk Experiment:
Put food coloring in 4 cups of water,
Place one stalk of celery in each cup. ( 1 celery stalk = 1 cup)
Then label 1 cup as 2 hours, 1 cup as 4 hours, 1 cup as 6 hours, and 1 cup as 8 hours.
After 2 hours talk the celery stalk out of cup 1.
Record your observations on the "Celery Grid" worksheet.
Do the same for each of the other 3 cups after the appropriate # of hours has passed.
After the 8 hours are completed take a knife (Adults should perform this step!) and cut the celery to barely reveal the fibers and capillaries in the outer skin of the celery stalk.
*What do you observe about the celery stalk?
The celery stalk shows the colored water visually travelling up the fibers.
*What differences do you observe about each individual celery stalk?
As time progressed the colored water had more time to travel farther and farther up the fibers and capillaries of the celery stalks.
Coffee Filter Experiment:
Examine the coffee filters closely.
*Can you see the tiny fibers in the coffee filters?
These tiny fibers are similar to the narrow tubes found in the celery.
They allow the water to travel through them with capillary action.
Fill a cup with only about 1 inch of water.
Using washable thick large markers decorate the coffee filter, but make sure the center of the coffee filter is left plain and blank.
After decorating the coffee filter folder the filter 4 times so it forms a triangular shape.
Place the coffee filter into the cup only allowing the tip of the triangle (which should be the center of the coffee filter) into the water.
To assure that only this portion of the filter comes into contract with the water, it may be beneficial to attach the coffee filter to the rim of the cup with tape or a paper clip.
*Is the water travelling up the coffee filter through the fibers?
*What is the water doing to the coffee filter?
The water is travelling up the fibers because of capillary action and slowly blurring the strokes of color made by the markers.
This makes a beautiful creation of decoration as flowers or butterflies in the classroom!
The capillary action occurs because the fibers in the coffee filters, "are so small and close together that water molecules can travel between them and up" the filter.
Capillary Action in Literature...Click Here!
Capillary Action in Literature...Click Here!
Carnation and Daisy Experiment:
Place white Daisies or white Carnations into water with food coloring in it and watch what happens after serveral hours! :)
Place white Daisies or white Carnations into water with food coloring in it and watch what happens after serveral hours! :)
Sources: The Best of Wonder-Science. American Institute of Physics. Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wadsworth, 1997. 319.