Crashing Colors

This week we experiment with color! We are doing such a FUN experiment. It is called crashing colors. We bet you already know that some colors are known as primary colors (meaning first or most important). These colors are red, blue and yellow. When combined (mixed together) they make other colors. Do you know any colors that are made from any of these pairs of primary colors?

Blue + Yellow Makes:

Red + Blue Makes:

Yellow + Red Makes:

Write down what you think these color pairs make in your journal!

In this experiment, we will see what happens when the three primary colors “bump” into each other. But here is the thing to remember…DON’T STIR! We’re not going to mix the colors ourselves we are going to let a little detergent do that job for us.

Check it out in action:

What you will need:

Cereal Bowl

Whole Milk

Red, Blue, and Yellow liquid food coloring,

Cotton Swabs

Liquid Dish Detergent

Result timing: 5 minutes

What to do:

First fill up the cereal bowl with milk, not quite to the top.
Gently add a few drops of red color into the milk in a small spot at the edge of the dish.
Repeat with blue and yellow, moving around the dish’s edge so that each color is as far from the other two colors as you can make it. DO NOT stir the milk or jiggle the bowl! What do you think is going to happen when you add the detergent?
Write down your prediction in your journal.
Slowly pour a little detergent into the middle of the bowl.
Draw and color a picture in your journal of what you see.

How does it work?

Just like water, milk is made of molecules, tiny pieces that stick together. They stick so closely that when you put in the food coloring, the food coloring (for the most part) just sits on top of the milk. Scientist call this surface tension, the molecules stick together as if there is an invisible skin across the top of the milk. When you add detergent to the milk, it pulls the milk molecules apart so that the surface tension is weakened. The milk and detergent molecules move around, and so does the food coloring! Where the colors mix, you may see a little green, orange, and purple.

Let us know!

Did you try this experiment? How did you like it? Let us know in the comments section below. Share your videos and photos with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag- #sciencesunday

We would love to see you doing the experiments!