Aha-mazing!

Science is indeed amazing and experiments about dissolving and diffusion are no exception. Prepare to be amazed with this activity which will surely leave you saying "Amazing!"

This activity will allow the students to familiarize themselves with the definition and importance of dissolving and diffusion. Furthermore, they will have hands-on experience to better understand the relationship between the two.

The students will be able to visualize how diffusion and dissolving work by doing the Skittles experiment (Aha-mazing! Experiment).

  • Active and Engaged
  • Skill Building
  • Safe and Supportive Environment
ItemsQtyVendor

Bag of Fun Size Skittles

40Amazon

White Dinner Plate

20Dollar Tree

Glass of Water (warm or cold)

20Amazon

 

  • Dissolving: the process that occurs when a solute is added to a solvent and the solute disappears.
  • Diffusion: the passage of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.
  • Molecules: a group of atoms bonded together.
  • Concentration: the amount of solute per volume of solvent.
  • Solvent: a substance, ordinarily a liquid, in which other materials dissolve to form a solution.
  • Solute: a substance that can be dissolved by a solvent to create a solution.

The tutor will prepare the following materials needed for the activity:

  • Bags of skittles
  • Glass of water
  • White Dinner Plate

The tutor will begin by showing the image below and asking the students the following questions:

  • Have you ever wondered why whenever you are in a coffee shop, the whole place smells like coffee?
  • Do you think even people from outside the shop can smell the coffee from the inside? Why do you think so?

Watch the video for step-by-step instructions.

The tutor will instruct the students to keep the remaining skittles and water and carefully set the plate of skittles aside.

  1. The tutor will relate this activity to the questions she asked before the start of the experiment.

    (Note: For unfamiliar terms, please refer to the words from the Vocabulary Terms section)

    One reason you smell coffee either inside or outside a coffee shop is convection. The moving currents of air carry the small particles of the coffee all around the shop. But, even without convection, the smell will still reach you eventually by diffusion. In the process of diffusion, the coffee particles move from the coffee machine (an area of high concentration) to the rest of the coffee shop (an area of low concentration).
     
  2. Before the tutor proceeds with the explanation of the experiment, ask the students what they noticed with the outcome of the experiment.

    (Note: Asking the students will let them use their schema.)
     
  3. The tutor needs to point out two important factors from the experiment.
     
    • Dissolving – also called dissolution. It is the process that occurs when a solute (substance being dissolved) is added to a solvent (dissolving medium – e.g water) and the solute disappears. 

      (In the experiment, the food color from the Skittles is the solute and the water is the solvent.)
       
    • Diffusion – the passage of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.

      (In the experiment, the particles of the food color move from the Skittles to the middle of the plate and form a pattern.)
       
  4. The tutor may ask the students for other examples they can think that apply the process of dissolving and diffusion.

    Another example: tea bag in a cup.
  • Self-Awareness: Young people are able to recognize and understand their own personal identity and feelings.
  • Growth Mindset: Young people believe that they can, through their own efforts, grow in their intelligence and abilities.

Watch the video for step-by-step instructions