What's So Special about Water: Absorption

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In this activity about water's cohesive and adhesive properties and why water molecules are attracted to each other, learners test if objects repel or absorb water. Learners create and test possible explanations why some repel, while others absorb. They also learn how to share their observations, hypotheses, experiments, and conclusions with each other. This lesson guide includes instructions for two mini activities, key vocabulary words, extension ideas, helpful hints, and resources. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$5 - $10 per student
Age Range:
Ages 8 - 11
Resource Types:
Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity, Lesson/Lesson Plan
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • Clay
  • Cotton
  • Eyedropper
  • Paper
  • Plastic cups
  • Rocks
  • Sponge
  • Toothpicks
  • Water
  • Waxed paper

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth Structure
      • Oceans and Water
  • Mathematics
    • Data Analysis and Probability
      • Data Analysis
      • Data Collection
      • Data Representation
  • Physical Sciences
    • Chemistry
      • Solutions
    • States of Matter
      • Liquids
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Atomic Structure
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations
      • Gathering Data
      • Formulating Explanations
      • Communicating Results

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

  • Bowers, Sally

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2007