Cereal that Settles
Fri, Jul 20, 2012
Materials: Several types of kids breakfast cereal, plastic cup or jar with a lid
Activity: Pour several cereals into a plastic cup. Fill half of the cup. Put a lid on the cup. Shake the cup up and down. Which cereal ends up on top and which is on bottom? You would expect the larger denser pieces of cereal to sink to the bottom, but they rise to the top. When you shake the cup, the cereal moves up and down. Smaller bits of cereal fills in spaces below bigger bits, pushing the bigger cereal up. This helps explain why you find big brazil nuts at the top of a tin of mixed nuts.
Research Questions: How does shape of container affect the position of cereal? Try a rectangular box, cylindrical cup and a cone. Which type of cereals lift big cereal to the top fastest? How does the way you shake the cup affect if and when the big cereal reaches the top?
Resources:
Tags: Earth Materials 2012