School Projects with Cooking Oil

Use cooking oil for your next school project.

If creating an ocean wave or a replica of the brain is something you want to do with your class, then add cooking oil to the list of supplies you will need for the next project. Cooking oil is dense, making it difficult to blend with other liquids, so experimenting with it will be a good education tool for students.

Ocean waves

Create an ocean project with waves using recycled materials and cooking oil. Select an empty glass, plastic jar or bottle. Wash the container well and remove any labels from the outside. Place a few spoonfuls of sand inside the container. Add water to the container until it is half full. Add a few seashells or other ocean decoration to the jar. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to achieve the appearance of ocean water. Add cooking oil to the container until it's almost full. Tightly screw on or glue the top to the jar. Once the lid is secure, lay the container on its side and slightly jiggle it, causing the waves to move back and forth, taking some of the sand with them.

Oil and Water

Mix a few drops of food coloring with one cup of water. Add 2 tbsp. colored water to a small soda bottle. Add 2 tbsp. of cooking oil to the water in the soda bottle. Place the lid on top of the bottle, securing it tightly and shake the bottle for a few minutes. Notice that the cooking oil doesn't join together with the colored water. The oil will remain toward the top of the water because oil and water do not mix. Water and oil molecules are strong and only track to like molecules. Unscrew the top of the soda bottle and add a few drops of liquid dish detergent. Notice that the dish detergent will join together the water and oil because the detergent is attracted to the two liquids.

Brain

Create a model of the brain from ingredients one would normally have in the home. Mix together two cups water, one cup salt, two cups flour and 4 tsp. cream of tartar. Blend together or stir the ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Add 1/4 cup cooking oil to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Heat the mixture in a saucepan on low heat until it appears lumpy. Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and allow it to cool. Form the substance into the shape of a brain and add red food coloring to resemble blood vessels.

Seven-Layer Density Column

Some liquids just don't blend well due to the different weights of density. Liquids with a higher density will sink below a liquid that has a lower density. Begin by pouring 8 oz. of the following into seven different plastic cups; light corn syrup, water, cooking oil, dish detergent, rubbing alcohol, lamp oil and honey. Add a different color food coloring to each cup to distinguish the different types of liquids. Select a cylinder tall enough to hold all the liquids together. Use a turkey baster and slowly pour each liquid into the center of the cylinder one at a time beginning with honey. Repeat the process going in this order; corn syrup, dish soap, water, cooking oil, rubbing alcohol and lamp oil. The liquids will layer on top of one another, creating a seven-layer column.

References

• Education: Create an Ocean in a Bottle
• Science Kids: Science Experiments for Kids
• Neuroscienc for Kids: Modeling the Nervous System
• Steve Spangler Science: Seven Layer Density Column