Water – What A Remarkable Substance

Surface tension, objects that float while others sink, clouds and bubbles…..That is just the tip of the iceberg (deliberate pun, hee hee!) when it comes to that wondrous substance water.

Try this simple experiment.

Magic Matches. You will need matches, a bowl of clean water, soap, and a lump of sugar.

1. Carefully lay the matches on the surface of the water in a ring with the ends of the matches pointing toward the center of the bowl.
   
2. Dip the sugar lump in the middle of the bowl. The matches should move toward the sugar.
   
3. Now dip the soap in the middle of the bowl. The matches should move away from the soap.

When you put the sugar lump in the middle of the bowl, it absorbs some of the water. A small current of water flows toward the sugar and pulls the matches with it. But when you hold the soap in the middle of the bowl, the stronger surface tension around the edge of the bowl pulls the matches outward.

5 Cool Science Experiments Using Pretty Much Nothing But Water!