viscosity of lava experiment

Earth education for all

Go With the Flow: Teaching about the Viscosity of Lava

CHRISTOPHER ROEMMELE ([email protected]) is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at West Chester University, West Chester, PA.

The viscosity of lava is an important control on the explosiveness of a volcanic eruption. Using a series of three short demonstrations, students can compare and contrast this characteristic of felsic and mafic magma / lava and get a better understanding of viscosity and how it impacts eruptions and volcano type.

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New device measures lava flow’s viscosity at active Icelandic volcano

Scientists say the new device allowed the development of the first viscosity map of a full lava flow based on in situ measurements with time and space..

Shubhangi Dua

In a field test of their instrument, University at Buffalo researchers gathered viscosity data from lava flows at the Litli-Hrútur eruption in Iceland.

Martin Harris

For years, scientists around the world have been devising ways to reliably detect the activation of volcanic activities, especially around populated areas. 

Therefore, researchers from the University at Buffalo, New York developed a new instrument – a penetrometer to devise a portable, accurate, and durable device capable of measuring the viscosity of lava in its natural emplacement environment. 

The instrument helps overcome some of the challenges of conventional laboratory measurements, as it’s often challenging to capture the complexity of active lava flows. 

Penetrometer measures lava viscosity in the field

In nature, lava is a three-phase mixture consisting of molten rock (melt), gas bubbles, and solid crystals. These components interact in ways that are difficult to replicate in a lab setting, where conditions are often simplified. 

Thus, a field instrument was required to measure lava viscosity (measurement of how fast lava flows) directly at the site of volcanic activity. 

The study’s author Martin Harris alluding to the viscosity of lava, explained that this is dependent on temperature, lava composition, and texture (crystal and bubble content). “The higher the temperature and lower the silica (SiO2), the less viscous the lava will be,” told Interesting Engineering .

The new penetrometer was made robust enough to endure the extreme conditions of a volcanic environment. This includes detecting high temperatures and corrosive gases, also providing real-time, accurate data on lava viscosity to improve understanding of how lava behaves in its natural state.

“In places like Iceland or Hawaii that have pretty frequent lava eruptions that impact infrastructure like roads and communities, there is uncertainty involved with the estimation of where the lava may travel and how quickly it may go there,” expressed Harris.

Harris says that viscosity measurements however are almost always conducted in a lab which was the main issue. The experiment is safer and easier in the lab but some essential information is usually neglected.

The researchers paired each field measurement of lava viscosity with direct temperature measurements of the lava and collected samples of the lava which were analyzed for composition and texture at a later time.

Tested at 2023 Litli-Hrútur eruption in Iceland

“When lava erupts from a volcano, a lot of different gases are trapped as bubbles within the lava,” stated Harris.

“When we do measurements in the lab, we cannot put the gas back in. So, what we measure is a representation of the lava without all the different components, and we miss something that influences how the lava can flow.”

The penetrometer was tested by the researchers at an active volcano in Iceland during the 2023 Litli-Hrútur eruption.

They discovered that the instrument accurately measured lava viscosities in the field, with values ranging from 12,000 to 34,000 pascal-seconds. These measurements were taken at temperatures between 1148 and 1152 degrees Celsius.

The successful deployment in Iceland demonstrated the device’s effectiveness in capturing the natural rheology of active lava flows. 

“Since our field tests in Iceland, we have modified the data acquisition procedure for the lava penetrometer to make it easier to use in the field. Specifically, this involves using large switches to toggle the sensors on and off right before and directly after measurements in lava, ensuring focus on the dynamic lava flow environment,” Harris told IE .

The findings spotlighted the penetrometer’s potential to enhance the understanding of lava behavior, providing critical data that was previously difficult to obtain due to the limitations of existing measurement techniques.

“It was the first time that people have done these measurements across these different transects of the lavas. The really exciting thing about this instrument is that we were able to show this change in the physical properties of the lava with time and space,” Harris noted in the press release.

Developing the first viscosity map of a full lava flow

The study’s author also explained that when lavas flow farther from its eruptive source, it cools, grows more crystals, and loses entrained bubbles, all of which cause the viscosity to increase as the lava flows.

The researchers’ in-situ measurements of natural lava viscosity provided a means to measure this dynamic viscosity change that can be used to inform numerical models that aim to forecast the eruptive path and rate.

Harris told IE , “We are working to develop pipelines to provide this information to public safety authorities that are tasked with hazard assessments and evacuation procedures during ongoing eruptions.”

He additionally told IE that the new device paved the development of the first viscosity map of a full lava flow based on in situ measurements with time and space.

Scientists are especially working on getting an enhanced comprehension of how crystals and bubbles within the lava influence the flow behavior, and this investigation is only possible with our in situ methodology.

“In essence, this contribution of field viscosity that contains the natural abundance of suspended phases (crystals and bubbles) is novel, and our data can be used as a benchmark for natural lava properties that other laboratory, analog, and numerical model studies of lava flow behavior can compare with,” he told IE.

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The study was published in the journal – Review of Scientific Instruments .

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Rate the lesson plan, science labs, liquid rock.

Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve , El Malpais National Monument

In this science lab, students learn about the properties of lava by experimenting with liquids having varying gas contents and viscosities. When we think about the properties of liquid, water usually comes to mind. But there are many different liquids, each with unique freezing points, boiling points, and viscosities. A liquid's behavior can also be greatly modified by the presence of dissolved gases (e.g., soda vs. water). Craters of the Moon was once a liquid sea of lava (although not all at once) until it "froze" and turned to a solid. Early eruptions were violent, like a shaken can of soda, while later eruptions were sedate, like water being poured into a glass. Some lava raced across the land like heated olive oil, while other flows crept along like tons of tepid toothpaste. Two basic types of lava made Craters: rhyolite and basalt.The main difference between the two is the amount of silica (SiO2) they contain. Rhyolitic lava's high silica content causes it to be quite viscous.That viscosity prevents gas within it from readily escaping as the magma rises to Earth's surface through a break in its crust. When lava can no longer contain the increasing gas pressure within, cataclysmic rhyolitic eruptions occur. Basaltic eruptions are gentler because gas bubbles to the surface before it generates explosive pressure. Boiling water does not cast large volumes of liquid into the air in violent fits and starts like, for example, a boiling vat of mud. The high viscosity of the mud causes it to behave like rhyolitic lava. Basaltic lavas are runnier, like maple syrup, while rhyolitic lavas are more like molasses. Early volcanic activity in the Snake River Plain (up to 17 million years ago) consisted of calamitous rhyolitic eruptions that created enormous calderas up to several 100 miles square miles in area! At Craters this evidence has since been entirely hidden by the more recent, gentler, low-silica basaltic eruptions. All the rock you see at Craters is basalt. Very hot basalt, whose top layered cooled like the "scum" at the surface of a mug of hot chocolate, became the smooth, ropy lava we call pahoehoe. Cooler lava that crept downhill and was slowly turned, twisted, and ground up into irregular chunks became a'a. See "Additional Resources" below for links to introductory materials about the geology of Craters of the Moon.

Objective(s)

• Students will be able to describe liquids in terms of their viscosity.
• Students will be able to explain how heat affects a liquid's viscosity.
• Students will understand how dissolved gas and pressure influence the behavior of an eruption.
• Two empty film canisters (black with gray lid)
• Alka-seltzer tablets (about 30)
• Bunsen burner, hot plate, or camp stove (optional)
• A pot for water (optional)
• Balloons, smallest available (one per 2-3 kids)
• Means to fill balloons part-way with water
• A bottle of carbonated mineral water
• Thermometer
• Watch with second hand
• Several liquids with different viscosities (e.g., water, cooking oil, honey, syrup, corn syrup, molasses, water, or mayonnaise)
• A smooth surface such as a lunch tray or a dry erase board

Part 1: Demonstrate Gas Pressure

As an attention grabber and to introduce volcanism and the effects of gas and pressure, prepare the following experiment. Fill a film canister 1/4 to 1/3 full of water. Drop an Alka-seltzer into the canister and put the lid on and place a second, empty canister on top of the first. You might do this surreptitiously and begin talking about gases, liquids, and solids. In a few seconds the increasing pressure within the canister will cause it to "erupt", blowing the cap and the empty canister into the air getting everyone's attention. Alka-seltzer ooze may overflow the container just as lava might move down the slopes of a volcano. Ask the students what happened. Gas was released when the Alka-seltzer came into contact with water. Gas occupies a greater volume than liquid or solid, so pressure increased within the canister until the lid could no longer contain it. Show the class a bottle of carbonated mineral water or soda. Carbon dioxide (a gas at normal temperature and pressure) is dissolved in water. Shake it up and remove the cap. The liquid that bubbles out of the mouth of the bottle shows that the carbon dioxide within is quickly expanding now that its pressure has been released. The carbon dioxide expands, wreaking havoc just like the expanding gas in a rhyolitic volcanic eruption. Ask the kids what happens to a pot of water sitting on a cold stove. Nothing much.What happens when you turn the heat on? The water approaches its boiling point and turns to gas. Where does the gas go? It escapes as steam. If you have a Bunsen burner, a hot plate, or a camp stove you could boil water and demonstrate this to the class as you discuss it. What would happen if you screwed the lid on tight? Increasing temperature and pressure within the potwould eventually cause it to blow up, spraying scalding water all over! Ask the students what they know about the different states a substance can have: gas, liquid, solid. See what they know about water's three states: gaseous water, liquid water, and ice. Can they describe what happens to water when its temperature goes from -1 ° to +1 ° C (31 ° to 33 ° F)? From 99 ° to 101 ° C (211 ° to 213 ° F)? Hold up a rock. Ask the class if it will melt. Yes, at a high enough temperature it would. After all, the rock at Craters was once liquid. Will it turn to gas? In laboratory conditions under ultra-high temperatures its mineral parts would vaporize. But in nature the rock would not "boil" or reach its vapor point to any significant measure.

Part 2: Alka-Seltzer and Balloon Experiment

Now it's time to let the students see for themselves the effects of gas  and pressure. Go outside and give each of the students (or groups of 2-3  students) a small balloon and one or more Alka-seltzer tablets (you will  need to experiment beforehand to see how much water and how many  tablets result in the desired effects with your particular type of  balloons). Have the students first break up an Alka-seltzer tablet and stuff the pieces into the neck of a balloon. Then add a little water and quickly tie off the neck. They will see the balloon expand as the gas within the tablet is released, similar to expanding gas in rising lava. Some kids could experiment with more than one tablet and varying amounts of water in the balloon. You could also let students repeat the film canister experiment you did at the beginning of the lesson.

Part 3: Viscosity Study

Place two lines on your smooth surface, labeling them A and B (see figure 1). You will measure the time it takes your liquids to go from A to B when the flat surface is held on an incline. Test each substance at different temperatures. For example, you could set one jar of honey in the sun or over a heating duct and another in a refrigerator until ready to do the experiment. Number the viscosities from least viscous (most runny) to most viscous (thickest) with 1 being the least viscous.

Using the following table, record the viscosity experiment data as a class or in small groups. Pretend that your liquids are actually different lavas at varying temperatures. Record whether your liquid contained lots of silica (high viscosity) or little silica (low viscosity).

How did temperature affect viscosity? Did your warm honey or molasses cool noticeably as it slid down the surface? If so, did it look different at the bottom than it did at the top? Did any of your materials get that ropy, pahoehoe look? If you used a refrigerator and had more time would any of your sugar-containing liquids crystallize and become like jagged a'a lava?

Additional Resources

Geology of Craters of the Moon: For Teachers For Students Glossary Analogs

Download Liquid Rock Lesson Plan

Lesson Plans

Last updated: November 15, 2023

Universe Today

Space and astronomy news

Lava Viscosity

[/caption] When it comes to liquids, viscosity is a measurement of how thick or syrupy it is. Water has low viscosity, while corn syrup, for example, is highly viscous. You can measure lava in terms of viscosity as well. And the lava viscosity defines the size and shape of a volcano. Even though lava is 100,000 times more viscous than water, it can still flow great distances.

When lava has low viscosity, it can flow very easily over long distances. This creates the classic rivers of lava, with channels, puddles and fountains. You can also get bubbles of lava filled with volcanic gasses that burble and pop on the surface of the lava. And over time, volcanoes made from low lava viscosity are wide and have a shallow slope; these are known as shield volcanoes. Classic examples of shield volcanoes are Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaii, as well as Olympus Mons on Mars.

When lava has a high viscosity, it’s very thick and doesn’t flow very well at all. Instead of rivers of lava, you can get crumbling piles of rock flowing down hill. It can also clog up the volcanic vent and form blocks that resist the flow of lava. Viscous lava will trap pockets of gas within the rock, and not let them pop as bubbles on the surface. But most importantly, highly viscous lava is associated with explosive eruptions and dangerous pyroclastic flows.

An example of a low viscosity (fast flowing) lava is basaltic lava. This flows quickly out of a volcano at a temperature of about 950 degrees Celsius. This flows out for great distances creating shield volcanoes or flood basalt fields. An example of high viscosity lava is felsic lava, like rhyolite or dacite. It erupts at lower temperatures, and can flow for tens of kilometers.

We have written many articles about lava for Universe Today. Here’s an article about lava flows , and here’s an article about the temperature of lava .

Want more resources on the Earth? Here’s a link to NASA’s Human Spaceflight page , and here’s NASA’s Visible Earth .

We have also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast about Earth, as part of our tour through the Solar System – Episode 51: Earth .

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FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• How Far Does a Lava Flow Go?

Lesson How Far Does a Lava Flow Go?

Grade Level: 9 (6-9)

Time Required: 15 minutes

Lesson Dependency: Measuring Lava Flow

Subject Areas: Physical Science

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• Print lesson and its associated curriculum

Activities Associated with this Lesson Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

• Measuring Lava Flow

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Engineering connection, learning objectives, more curriculum like this, pre-req knowledge, introduction/motivation, associated activities, lesson closure, vocabulary/definitions, additional multimedia support, user comments & tips.

Many types of engineers must understand the properties of liquids. Understanding viscosity and the factors that change how liquids move can aid in the design of structures that use liquids to do work, as well as structures and devices that control or contain liquids. Geochemical engineers use science to solve environmental and civil engineering problems, some working on ways to halt or divert lava flows to protect human-built structures. For instance, R.D. Schuiling suggests that limestone walls could be built to rapidly cool lava (making it more viscous) and thus slow the flow enough to salvage human settlements.

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Describe two different kinds of volcanoes, in terms of the nature of their lava flows and resulting slopes.
• Explain how the properties of liquid movement are relevant to the phenomena of lava flows and how this can affect human civilization.
• Describe how fluid properties are important in science and engineering.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science.

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

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State Standards

California - science, national science education standards - science.

A mathematical understanding of surface area, an understanding of the liquid phase, and background earth science knowledge about the Earth's layers, plate tectonics and volcanoes.

For instance, the greater the amount of the compound silica (SiO 2 ) present in the magma, the more sluggishly it moves. The ability of a fluid to move fast or slow is called its viscosity. Described another way, viscosity is a fluid's resistance to flow. This means that more viscous fluids do not flow as easily as less viscous ones. Who can think of some fluids that are viscous? (Example answers: Honey, glue, oil, sour cream, shampoo, motor oil.) How about some fluids that are not very viscous? (Example answers: Water, juice, milk, coffee, gasoline, alcohol.) Viscosity is an important property of fluids; it has many applications in our lives. For instance, suppose you were an engineer that was designing a glue factory. Would it be important to know the viscosity of glue in order to design machines that fill glue bottles?

Now getting back to lava flow, another aspect that can affect the spread of lava is the shape of its volcano. Volcano shapes can be tall and thin or short and wide. That means that they may have different slopes. Some are steep and some are not. These different landscapes were caused by different types of lava eruptions in the first place, and in turn, affect how liquids flow over them.

Properties such as volume, viscosity and the slope of a surface can all affect how a liquid flows and thus how much surface area it can cover. These properties are important to engineers who work with liquids because they must understand how liquids move. For instance, a chemical engineer must know the properties of a liquid product in order to design a container for it. Environmental engineers must know how water moves in order to create barriers such as dams or levees to divert or contain bodies of water.

(Proceed to conduct the associated activity, Measuring Lava Flow .)

Lesson Background and Concepts for Teachers

Through this lesson and its associated activity, students learn through experimentation the relationships between a flowing liquid's volume, viscosity, slope, and the surface area it covers. While some equations involving flow and viscosity can be complex, the essential relationships between volume, viscosity, slope and the surface area coverage of lava flows are straightforward. The greater the lava volume, the more surface area covered. The more viscous the lava, the less surface area it covers. The steeper the slope, the more surface area the lava covers. As with all liquids, other properties play a role in lava's movement, too, such as its temperature (higher temperature results in lower viscosity), composition (silica-rich lava is cooler, thicker and slower flowing), obstacles (more obstacles slow its flow) and substrate texture (rough texture slows its flow). Hence, volcanoes are not all equally hazardous to human populations, since every volcano is unique in its lava volume, viscosity, slope and other characteristics and conditions.

Many active volcanoes exist today around the world. Some are a lot more dangerous than others. Following are a few examples:

• Mt. Kilauea in Hawaii: The locals must constantly be aware of the changing directions of the very active volcano's lava flows as it crosses roads and invades residential neighborhoods. Luckily, this lava tends to be slow-moving because of its high viscosity and the volcano's gentle mountain slopes.
• Mt. Saint Helens in Washington: The 1980 pyroclastic eruption of this volcano was the deadliest and most destructive in US history. It killed 57 people and destroyed numerous homes, roads, bridges and other structures.
• Mt. Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: This volcano's unique low-viscosity lava (due to its low silica content) and steep slopes makes its fast-moving lava (up to 60 mph! [97 kph]) flows a huge risk for the nearby city of Goma.

Lava is composed of hot molten rock (magma) mixed with dissolved gases. At extremely high temperatures (2000° F or 700° C, or higher!), it behaves like other fluids in the liquid state of matter. Knowing the properties of liquids, geochemical engineers think of creative ways to protect human settlements and structures from lava flows (as much as is possible). This might include cooling the lava and its surrounding air so it hardens and slows, adding material to the lava to increase its viscosity, erecting structures and swales to block and re-route lava streams, and changing the slope and/or texture of the slope. In a broader sense, engineers of all types must understand the properties of liquid movement for the work they do — designing dams, levees, boat motors, turbines; understanding ocean currents; creating liquid products and manufacturing plants, cleaning up toxic spills, studying the Earth's mantle and how liquids behave in space.

• Measuring Lava Flow - Students learn how volume, viscosity and slope are factors that affect the surface area that lava covers. Using clear transparency grids and liquid soap, teams conduct experiments, make measurements and collect data. They brainstorm possible solutions to lava flow problems as if they were geochemical engineers, and come to understand how the properties of lava are applicable to other liquids.

(Conclude the lesson after completion of the associated activity, Measuring Lava Flow .)

Now that you have experimented with your lava (liquid soap), who can tell me how volume affects the surface area that a lava flow will cover? (Answer: Greater volume covers more area.) How about how viscosity affects the surface area that a lava flow will cover? (Answer: The more viscous the lava, the less area it covers.) Who can tell me how slope affects the surface area that a lava flow will cover? (Answer: The steeper the slope, the more surface area it covers.) What other properties do you think affect lava flow? (Possible answers: Temperature [higher temperature results in lower viscosity], the chemical components making up the lava, how many obstacles block the path of the lava flow, the texture of the substrate over which the lava flows [smooth vs. rough].)

Let's revisit the question that I asked you earlier: Do all volcanoes have the same risk to human settlements? (Answer: Students should realize that risk to human settlements depends on many factors, including how much lava [its volume], how fast it flows [its viscosity], the slope of the volcano, and other surrounding conditions.) It turns out that some volcanoes are a lot more dangerous than others. One well-known example of a hazardous volcano is Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its lava has very low viscosity because of its low silica content. Mount Nyiragogo also has very steep slopes. Together, these factors together enable the lava to travel up to 60 mph! And, the volcano's close proximity to a city also makes it especially dangerous. By contrast, Mt Kilauea in Hawaii is a much less steep volcano with more viscous lava, so even though it is very active, it poses less threat to people.

In the second part of the activity, each group "became" a team of geochemical engineers with the goal of brainstorming ways to save human structures from lava flows. I would like one person from each group to share one possibility you came up with as a way to stop or divert lava flows. (Encourage students to be creative! Possible answers: Spraying lava with cold water so it hardens and slows, building walls to block and divert, digging ditches to divert flow, decreasing the slope of the substrate, cooling the ambient air, adding things to the lava to increase its viscosity.)

Lastly, can anyone tell me why knowing the properties of liquid movement might be important to know in the world today? (Possible answers: Designing dams, boat motors, turbines, understanding water currents in the ocean, in industry [creating liquid products], studying the Earth's mantle and liquids in space.)

effusive: Flowing, for example, lava that flows.

lava: Magma that has reached the Earth's surface.

magma: A substance composed of melted rock and dissolved gasses.

slope: Steepness, incline.

viscosity: A liquid's resistance to flow.

Pre-Lesson Warm-Up Questions: Ask students the following questions:

• In which phase or state of matter is lava from a volcano? (Answer: Liquid.)
• Do all liquids move in the same way? (Answer: No, some are fast, some are slow.)
• Do you think that towns and cities that are close to volcanoes are all at the same risk during an eruption? (Answer: Expect various answers of why or why not students think some locations / volcanoes may be riskier than others. Indicate that the answer to this question will become clear later in the lesson.)

Post-Lesson Discussion: As a class, ask students the questions provided in the Lesson Closure section, using their answers to evaluate their comprehension.

Lava flow video clips at Volcano Video Productions' website at http://www.volcanovideo.com/p8vidclp.htm

See photos of lava in various states and a list of towns destroyed by lava at Wikipedia's page on lava: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava

See a list of the world's 21 most active volcanoes and their years of continuous eruption at the Volcano Live website: http://www.volcanolive.com/active2.html

Students learn how volume, viscosity and slope are factors that affect the surface area that lava covers. Using clear transparency grids and liquid soap, students conduct experiments, make measurements and collect data.

tudents are introduced to the similarities and differences in the behaviors of elastic solids and viscous fluids. In addition, fluid material properties such as viscosity are introduced, along with the methods that engineers use to determine those physical properties.

Students learn about the causes, composition and types of volcanoes. They begin with an overview of the Earth's interior and how volcanoes form. Once students know how volcanoes function, they learn how engineers predict eruptions.

Students learn about the underlying factors that can contribute to Plinian eruptions (which eject large amounts of pumice, gas and volcanic ash, and can result in significant death and destruction in the surrounding environment), versus more gentle, effusive eruptions. They experiment with three fl...

Allard, P.; Baxter, P.; Halbwachs, M.; Kasareka, M.; Komorowski, J.C.; and Joron J.L. "The most destructive effusive eruption in modern history: Nyiragongo 2003." Geophysical Research Abstracts 5 (2003): 11970.

Lamb, Annette, and Larry Johnson. Volcanic Landforms. May 2002. Naturescapes, eduScapes. Accessed November 12, 2009. http://eduscapes.com/nature/lava/index1.htm

Lava. (Questions and answers with volcanologist Dr. Stanley Williams.) Scholastic, Inc. Accessed November 12, 2009. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/lava

Mount Nyiragongo. Onpedia. Accessed April 15, 2009. http://www.onpedia.com/encyclopedia/Mount-Nyiragongo

Schuiling, R.D. "How to stop or slow down lava flows" International Journal of Global Environmental Issues 2008, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 282-285.

Smith, Michael, Southard, John B., Eisenkraft, Arthur, Freebury, Gary, Ritter, Robert, Demery, Ruta. Integrated Coordinated Science for the 21st Century. Armonk, NY: It's About Time, 2004.

See the original website rendering of this curriculum at: http://measure.igpp.ucla.edu/GK12-SEE-LA/Lesson_Files_08/Lessons0809/lesson_BE_lava.html

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

This digital library content was developed by the University of California's SEE-LA GK-12 program under National Science Foundation grant number DGE 0742410. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: June 5, 2018

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Viscosity Experiment With Marbles

The fun thing about science experiments for kids is that you can set them up easily and quickly with what you already have! Learn about the viscosity of fluids with a simple  viscosity experiment . Grab some marbles and find out which one will fall to the bottom first. We love  science experiments  that are fun and easy to do!

What Is Viscosity?

Friction is a force that is created when there is motion between two solid objects. Liquids can also have friction. This internal friction is called viscosity .

All liquids have different viscosities, which means some liquids flow more easily than others. Viscosity is a physical property of fluids. The word viscous comes from the Latin word viscum, meaning sticky. It describes how fluids resist flow or how “thick” or “thin” they are.

Viscosity is affected by what the fluid is made of and the temperature of it. For example, water has a low viscosity, as it is “thin.” Hair gel is much more viscous than oil and significantly more than water!

Learn about the viscosity of fluids by having a marble race. Try this fun marble drop experiment below! You could even turn it into an easy viscosity science project.

• Clear glasses
• Various liquids (water, syrup, honey, oil)
• Ruler (optional)

Instructions:

STEP 1: Fill your glasses with your various liquids. Make sure they are all filled to the same level.

Learn more about using the scientific method for kids.

STEP 2: Place your ruler on top of your glasses and then place the marbles on top.

STEP 3: Tip your ruler toward you to release all of the marbles into your glasses at the exact same time.

STEP 4: Watch closely to see which marble reaches the bottom of the glass first. Did you guess which marble would win?

Using The Scientific Method

The scientific method is a process or method of research. A problem is identified, information about the problem is gathered, a hypothesis or question is formulated from the information, and the hypothesis is tested with an experiment to prove or disprove its validity.

Sounds heavy… What in the world does that mean?!? It means you don’t need to try and solve the world’s biggest science questions! The scientific method is all about studying and learning things right around you.

As children develop practices that involve creating, gathering data evaluating, analyzing, and communicating, they can apply these critical thinking skills to any situation.

LEARN MORE HERE: Using The Scientific Method with Kids

Note: The use of the best Science and Engineering Practices is also relevant to the topic of using the scientific method. Read more here and see if it fits your science planning needs.

Helpful Science Resources

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students. Then you can feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• 8 Science Books for Kids
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More Fun Viscosity Experiments To Try

Kids can use common household materials to try more viscosity experiments!

1. Cornstarch and Water: Oobleck!

Mix cornstarch with water in a bowl until you get a gooey substance. Have the kids try to stir the mixture slowly and then quickly. Discuss how the mixture behaves differently at different speeds, demonstrating its non-Newtonian properties.

2. Honey and Syrup Races

Fill two identical containers with honey and syrup. Have the kids tip the containers simultaneously, observe, and discuss which one flows faster. This demonstrates the different viscosities of honey and syrup.

3. Oil and Water Exploration

Fill a transparent container with water and drop some cooking oil into it. Observe how the oil forms droplets and floats on the water due to its lower viscosity. Discuss why the oil and water don’t mix.

Extend this viscosity experiment with alka seltzer tables. See lava lamp experiment.

4. Bubble Fun with Dish Soap

Mix dish soap with water to create a bubble solution. Use different amounts of soap to create solutions with varying viscosities. Have the kids blow bubbles and observe how the size and stability of the bubbles change with different soap concentrations.

Check out more bubble science experiments kids will love!

5. Ketchup vs. Mustard Race

Fill two squeeze bottles, one with ketchup and the other with mustard. Have the kids squeeze both bottles onto a plate and observe and discuss which condiment has a higher viscosity.

6. Molasses Pouring

Pour molasses or honey onto a plate and observe its slow flow. Discuss how molasses has a higher viscosity compared to water.

7. Dropper Races

Fill two droppers with liquids of different viscosities, such as water and honey. Challenge the kids to squeeze the droppers and observe how fast the liquids come out. Discuss the differences in flow rate.

8. Hot and Cold Syrup

Heat one container of syrup and keep another at room temperature. Compare the viscosity of the warm and cold syrup by pouring them onto a plate. Discuss how temperature can affect viscosity.

More Fun Science Experiments

• Magic Milk Experiment
• Self Inflating Balloon Experiment
• Egg in Vinegar Experiment
• Mentos and Coke Experiment
• Pop Rocks Viscosity Experiment
• Water Density Experiment

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