Skip to Content

Rainbow in a Tube

Play Video
jackie teaches at home science rainbow in a tube
triangles

What is the difference between the two images below?

They look identical, right? There is a small difference that you were not able to catch by observing these two images. The cup on the right (cup B) has 6 tablespoons of sugar in it. Although we cannot recognize this with our eyes, we can do an experiment to prove this claim. But first we need to talk about matter!

Matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. Look around the room it is full of matter. However, all matter does not look the same. Matter exists in the form of solids, liquids, gases, and plasmas. Sometimes matter cannot be seen or felt, like the air we breathe.

Matter has properties and those are referred to as the traits we can measure . One of the properties of matter is density. Density is how many particles are packed into a material. Think about the water in the images above.  Because they have the same volume, they most likely have the same number of water molecules. But for the cup on the right the sugar was added and dissolved even though you may not see it with the naked eye. The sugar occupies the space in between the water molecules and increases the density of the solution.

Learning Objectives

  • Standards Alginment + Connections

  • How to Run the Experiment


  • Keep Going! Your Students May Also Enjoy...

    Atoms in Action
    benedetta teaches at home science atoms in action

    Atoms in Action

    Explore atoms and their components and learn how the parts interact! See the magic of floating and flying objects all due to atoms!

    Grade Level: Elementary School (K-5)

    Subject: Physical Science , Physics

    Curriculum Unit: Forces and Interactions

    Bottle Rocket Truck (Learning Undefeated)
    middle school students show off their engineering design challenge product - a bottle rocket truck

    Bottle Rocket Truck (Learning Undefeated)

    Students will engage in a STEM challenge to design a truck powered by a chemical reaction that will have to stop within a specific drop-off zone. Teams will be challenged with various payloads to earn bonus points if they can stop in the drop-off zone.

    Grade Level: Grades 6-8

    Subject: Engineering

    Curriculum Unit: Engineering Design

    Finding My Dance (Learning Undefeated)

    Finding My Dance (Learning Undefeated)

    Students will engage in a STEM challenge to build a workable instrument in limited time to create a rhythm to communicate choreography.

    Grade Level: Grades K-2

    Subject: Engineering

    Curriculum Unit: Waves and their Applications

    How Did It Go? Send Us Feedback (or Pics)!

    Join the Mission