Inquiry Activity

Educ 4262 General Science

Azza Kayal

Magic Milk. (Inspiration link: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milkcolor-explosion)

Scientific question: what causes the food colouring in the milk to move?
Grade 9 academic SCN1D
Unit: Chemistry: Atoms, Elements, and Compounds
Overall expectations: Investigate through inquiry the physical and chemical properties of
common elements and compounds.
Specific expectations: Plan and conduct an inquiry into the properties of common substances
found in the laboratory or used in everyday life (e.g., starch, table salt, wax, toothpaste), and
distinguish the substances by their physical and chemical properties (e.g., physical properties:
hardness, conductivity, colour, melting point, solubility, density; chemical properties:
combustibility, reaction with water)
Grade 9 applied SCN1P
Unit: Chemistry: Exploring Matter
Overall Expectation: Investigate through inquiry the physical and chemical properties of
common elements and compounds.
Specific Expectation: Plan and conduct an inquiry into the properties of common substances
found in the laboratory or used in everyday life (e.g., starch, table salt, wax, toothpaste),
Class period 1: P.O.E Magic Milk (in the last 20 minutes of class)
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Pour enough milk into the container to completely cover the bottom and allow it to settle.
Add 3 drops of each of the colours of food coloring to the milk. (Widely separated and
not in the centre of the dish)
Predict what will happen when you touch the tip of a clean q-tip to the centre of the milk.
Place the tip of the clean q-tip in the centre of the milk.
Observe what happens. (It's important not to stir the mix, just touch it with the tip of the
cotton swab.)
Place a drop of liquid dish soap on the tip of the q-tip. Predict what will happen when you
touch the tip of a soapy q-tip to the centre of the milk.
Place the soapy end of the q-tip swab in the middle of the milk and hold it there for 10 to
15 seconds.

Inquiry Activity
Educ 4262 General Science
Azza Kayal

Notice that the food colouring streams away from the point where the soap touched the
milk, and the colours in the milk continue to move even when the q-tip is removed. After
a while the motion of the food coloring will stop.
Add another drop of soap to the tip to the q-tip and try it again. Notice that the motion of
the food colouring resumes.
Record your observation and explanation

As homework ask the students to think of what made the milk behave in such a way
Class period 2: Start filling level 2 inquiry posters.
Step 1: Observing and Questioning
Using blue sticky notes students will answer the following question: What did I observe?
(Check poster for answers)
Using yellow sticky notes students will answer the following question: What am I
wondering? (Check poster for answers)
Step 2(a): what could I measure or observe about magic milk or what is going on? (Check
poster for answers).
Step 2(b): what could I change or vary about magic milk or what is going on that may affect
what I could measure of observe? (Check poster for answers).
Step 3(a): What will I change?
Independent variable: Fat content of milk (one example)
Dependent variable: Temperature (starts at room temperature and increase it)
Step 3(b): What will I not change? (Variables I will not change)
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Brand of the milk

Temperature of the milk
Amount of food colouring
Location of food colouring
Brand of detergent
Location of detergent

Inquiry Activity
Educ 4262 General Science
Azza Kayal

Variables that students might change:

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The location of the q-tip with the soap in the dish (at the center vs. Aside)
Different fat content milk (1%, 3.5%, soy, almond, nut milk )
The amount of soap (q-tip vs. Directly placed on the milk)
The temperature of the milk (room temperature vs. refrigerated, or boiled or near freezing
point)
Different types of detergent (Dawn, Palmolive, Sunlight and Tied)
Different brand of food colouring (McCormick, Queen, Koepoe).
The depth of the plate being used (flat plate vs. a bowl).

Class period 3: finish up the poster and start experimenting

Step 4 and 5 will depend of each group response and what variable they want to hold
constant and which one they want to change and test it.
Class period 4: finishing up collecting data.
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Students will have this period to analyse the collected data.

Some scientific literacy will be introduce such as how to use graph and tables

Class period 5: Presenting results to peers/ class