Exploring the material properties of water - surface tension

Today we started to investigate some of the material properties of water - but before we could begin we needed to learn a little bit about the scientific method, as we'd be using this to drive our investigations.

We watched this great music clip to help us understand what the scientific method is, but more importantly why we use it. Watch the clip to find out more.

Working in our collaborative groups we assigned roles to each other - this made sure we all had a part to play in our experiment. We had directors who read the experiment and made sure we were all on task. We had material managers how got all the equipment we needed and made sure that we tided up all our mess when we'd finished. We had recorders to write down what we observed and our ideas. We had participants who made sure we all involved. 

We half filled cups and pushed a cork from the side of the cup. It seemed to just move from one side to the other.

Some of us wondered if we'd see the same movement in a larger container - they tested their question in an ice cream container.

We poured in more water and observed what happened. We saw something very different this time. We saw a dome of water form above the rim of the cup and the cork traveled to the centre of the cup - it was moving to the highest point. 

What happens when we pour in more water? The dome eventually breaks and the water floods over the side of the cup, it eventually stops, leaving behind a dome holding the piece of cork.

Why does this happen?

**A special thanks to Wahid and Majya for the background music :)