How to Do an Osmosis Science Experiment with Kids
Here's a simple science experiment involving osmosis you can do with young kids. My older kids enjoy this one, too. Follow the easy instructions to see what happens when water being moved by osmosis has something else mixed into it!
Allow the children to do as much of this experiment on their own. Remind them to be mindful of using exact measurements when required as this will lead to better results and also teach a lesson about how important it is to follow directions.
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Things You'll Need
- 12 inches of cotton string per child (will not work with other fibers beside cotton)
- Baking soda
- 2 plastic cups per child
- Water
- Tablespoon
- 2 days waiting time
Instructions
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1
Fill the plastic cups about 3/4 of the way with water.
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2
Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda into each cup.
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3
Put one end of the string in one cup and the other end in the other cup.
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4
Let the strings and the cups sit for two days. Be sure to put them in a safe place so they do not spill or get handled in any way.
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5
After 2 days, check the experiment. The results will be most interesting, even to the adults. Discuss what has happened and explain osmosis to the children.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane.[1] More specifically, it is the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high water potential (low solute concentration) to an area of low water potential (high solute concentration). It is a physical process in which a solvent moves, without input of energy, across a semi-permeable membrane (permeable to the solvent, but not the solute) separating two solutions of different concentrations.[2] Osmosis releases energy, and can be made to do work[3], as when a growing tree root splits a stone.[citation needed]
