Science experiment: Freezing oil and water

Mixing oil and water is one thing, but freezing oil and water is fascinating. What will happen and why? Kids love science and love answering all the science questions they can. Get them experimenting in the kitchen.

What you need:

• clear plastic container
• water
• oil
• freezer

Number of players:
1+

Activity:

Firstly pour some water into the clear plastic container.

Then add the same amount of oil to the container.

Leave this for a few minutes until the oil rises to the top of the container.

This occurs because the oil becomes lighter than the water.

Place the container in the freezer for a couple of hours.

After these couple of hours, you should see that the water is now on top of the oil. Why? Because the water is now a solid. As it expands when is freezes, it also becomes less dense than the oil.

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