Mini Ocean

by will1010 in Workshop > Science

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Mini Ocean

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My 8th grade science teacher had this cool looking clear block that had a blue liquid and clear liquid that was seperate and would not mix. also in it was some little plastic fish and a surfer.  I wanted one of these so bad so i asked him what was in it, all it was was blue food dye in water and clear mineral oil.  I made a mini ocean when at home with some household materials, you will need

1. a clear container  (plastic work best)
2. blue food coloring
3. water
4. mineral oil (vegetable oil will work but it is a yellowish color)(unfortunately vegetable oil is all i had)
5. mini plastic ocean creatures (that can sink and or float)
6. sea creatures/ sea objects (optional)

Now heres the science behind it :D Water is a compound made of tiny little molecules, each with a positive charge at one end and a negative charge at the other. These types of molecules are called "polar molecules." The reason water sticks together is because the positive charge of one end of a molecule will attract the negative end of the molecule next to it.  The molecules that make up oils are also charged, but its positive and negative charges are spread out more evenly. This makes it a "nonpolar molecule." Because the water molecules are unable to find a negative charge to connect their positive ones to, they can only mix with nonpolar molecules for a very short time