Mini Lava Lamp

NGSS

This product will support your students' understanding of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)*, as shown in the table below.

Suggested Science Idea(s)

2-PS1-1
2-PS1-2
3-PS2-2
5-PS1-1
5-PS1-3
MS-PS1-1
MS-PS1-2
MS-ESS2-2
MS-ESS2-1
HS-PS1-1
HS-PS3-4
HS-ESS1-2
HS-ESS2-3

Students can use the Mini Lava Lamp in an investigation of density and chemistry. Have students sketch the various events during construction of the Mini Lava Lamp. Shake up the tube and let students sketch the various motions of the liquids.

Continue the investigation with a simple study of thermodynamics. How do the liquids in the Mini-Lava Lamp react to the properties of heat and cold? What are the relationships between density and heat?

Place the Mini Lava Lamp in a container of warm water. How do the liquids react? Place the Mini Lava Lamp into a container of ice water. Record the findings with pictures, descriptions or photos or even a slow motion video taken with a cell phone.

These investigations give students opportunities to explore thermodynamics--a branch of physics that deals with heat and temperature and their relation to energy and properties of matter.

 

* NGSS is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of, and do not endorse, this product.