You’ll notice that the water hangs slightly over the top of the glass but doesn’t spill out just yet. Set up a row of coins and add different colors of water drops to each, forming surface tension. What's Going On? You can demonstrate concepts such as surface tension, buoyancy, and even eddy currents with Japanese yen coins! When we fill the glass with water, we notice right away that it can go over the brim of the glass without spilling. Water molecules love to stick together! One using a penny and the other using dish soap to propel a cardboard boat! Squeeze or pour a small amount of dish soap into a small bowl. Fill a clear glass with water all the way to the brim. ... We could not get the coins to float. Magic Milk Surface Tension Experiment . The higher the surface tension of the water, the bigger a droplet you can make before it breaks and flows over the edges of the penny. This holds the surface molecules together and holds the water in place over the coin, stopping water spillage for much longer than you would expect. Next try the classic surface tension experiment of floating a sewing needle on top of the water. Use a toothpick to pull water from the first coin to the second coin. Water and Surface Tension. There are two properties at work in this experiment: cohesion and surface tension. These experiments can be performed easily anywhere with simple materials. 10-12 coins of the same size Method: 1. Variables to test. To make it easier, place a small piece of the paper towel on the water first, and then place the needle on the paper towel. Now, add the coins one at a time to the glass of water, dropping them in rim-first (not face down). Surface tension is a special term we use to describe the cohesion between water molecules. Can a surface tension experiment result in some cool action art? MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) – In today’s Science Corner experiment, see how surface tension works in two different experiments! This means you need to reduce the surface tension of water. Guess how many coins you can add to the glass before the water starts to overflow! Add water around a coin on a plate. However, 1% or 2% milk will work in a pinch.) Surface Tension: Even though aluminum has a density of 2.7 gm/cm 3, and the density of water is 1 g/cm 3, aluminum yen coins can float on the surface … Frugal Fun for Boys has a great surface tension investigation using a coin and different liquids! More Surface Tension Experiments for kids. by: Ron Perkins. That magic is the surface tension of water. Can you pull the water all the way to the end of the row of coins without breaking the tension? You can use washing up liquid’s power of disrupting the surface tension of water to race lolly sticks. Cohesion is the “stickiness” of like molecules to one another. Surface tension experiments can be a fun way to learn about the unique properties of water. Fill the dish with milk. Cohesion is the attraction of like molecules to one another. Surface tension and cohesion is the reason you can get so many drops of water on a penny. Things that reduce surface tension are called surfactants. They are attracted to one another, and the force of attraction creates surface tension. Who knew that a single coin could be used for so many classroom science activities! Water molecules like to stick together. (*Whole milk works best due to its higher fat content. In this project, you will put droplets of water on a penny, like in Figure 1. Drop food coloring onto the milk in various spots. In this case, the like molecules are the H20 molecules in the water drops. Some preschoolers may want to understand the magic behind this simple science with coins. 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