At Home with the Mad Scientist: 3-6 for January 2010

How to Clean up an Oil Spill

Remember: Always have an adult help you with any experiment.

Materials

1. Cookie Tray
2. Water
3. Automotive Oil (dirty oil works best)
4. Small rocks and sand
5. Bits of wood, grass, and feathers
6. A fan
7. For clean up: kitty litter, Dawn dish soap, newspaper, basters, rags, sand

Procedure

1. Line the edge of the tray with rocks and sand to create a shoreline. Tuck in bits of wood and grass in the shoreline to represent some of the plant life that live on the coast.
2. Gently add water to the tray until 2/3 full. Drop a small handful of feathers into the water.
3. Gently pour a small amount of automotive oil carefully into the tray.
4. Place the fan along one end of the tray and switch to the "on" position. Leave the fan on, until the oil spill drifts to one of the shorelines.
5. Experiment with the different ways of trying to clean up the oil on the water, the shoreline and the organisms. Record your findings and observations throughout the investigation.

What's Going On?

Was the water pressure greater when the dam was full (20 cm) or nearly empty (5 cm)? How could you tell? How do your results affect how you would design a dam?

From: Environmental Kids Club - http://www.epa.gov/kids/