Magic Sand

1. Magic Sand Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science Training Presentation Elementary School Fall 2012

2. Important! • Please use this resource to reinforce your understanding of the lesson! Make sure you have read and understand the entire lesson prior to picking up the kit! • We recommend that you work through the kit with your team prior to going into the classroom. • This presentation does not contain the entire lesson—only selected experiments that may be difficult to visualize and/or understand.

3. Pre –lab set-up Pre-lesson Preparation: • Count number of students and prepare cups of magic sand, sand and water so that students can share in pairs. • Put 1 spoonful of the Magic Sand into 1oz cups, and 1 spoonful of regular sand into another set of 1oz cups. • Pour water into 6oz cups, about half full. Keep another set of 6 oz cups dry. • Write the vocabulary words on the board: hydrophobic and hydrophylic

4. II. Activities • Demonstration: show that water and oil don’t mix. • Shake the bottle containing the oil and water. • Explain that the oil on top is hydrophobic.

5. Sand Observations • Tell students to look at the 2 sands and make observations. • Are there any differences? • Use the 1 oz. dropping bottle to carefully add two drops of water to both types of sand.

6. Water and Sand Observations • Pass out the 6 oz cups of water and empty 6 oz cups. • Sprinkle all the magic sand onto the surface of the water in one of the cups. • The Magic Sand floats on the surface.

7. Magic Sand and Water • Take a popsicle stick and slowly push it through the Magic Sand layer and into the water about a fourth of an inch. The Magic Sand will coat the stick. Pull the stick out of the sand and show that it is dry.

8. Magic Sand and Water • Add a few drops of water on the surface. Keep adding water until a large drop forms. • Keep adding drops until the water falls through the sand layer.

9. Magic Sand and Water • Pour all the water off the Magic Sand into the dry cup, keeping as much sand as possible in the cup. This sand will be dry. • Tell students to make observations – feel the sand, is it wet or dry? • Tilt the cup until the sand forms a pile to one side. • Carefully add water and observe what happens. • Students can mold the magic sand under water with their popsicle sticks.

10. Magic Sand and Detergent DEMONSTRATION: • Sprinkle 2-3 mini spoons of magic sand into the jar containing water. • Show the class that the Magic Sand is either floating or is clumped together at the bottom of the jar. Tell them that you are going to make the Magic Sand behave like regular sand. • Add 2-4 squirts of the liquid detergent and stir with a popsicle stick. • Show the cup to the students and have them observe that the sand is now spread out over the bottom of the cup. • Ask: How does the addition of liquid dishwashing detergent affect the water’s interaction with Magic Sand? • The liquid detergent lowers the surface tension of water and wets the Magic Sand, making it behave like regular sand. • Disposal: discard the ruined magic sand down a sink. • Observe what happens. • The liquid detergent lowers the surface tension of water and wets the Magic Sand, causing it to be like regular sand

11. IV. Practical Applications • Oil spills • Burying junction boxes in the Arctic • See manual for detailed explanations