Why Does Water Rise? Science Experiment
* clear glass
* match or lighter
* food coloring (optional)
If you want to add food coloring to the water, go for it. I didn’t do it. All you do is put the water on a plate. Put a candle in the center and light it. Put the clear glass over the burning candle. You will observe the water rise and the candle go out.
Why it works?
Like I said, I was completely wrong in my understanding. You can read more at Steve Spangler’s page. However, the simple explanation is when you heat the inside of the glass, the hot air expands. When the flame goes out, the inside cools and the air contracts. This creates a vacuum. You have low pressure inside the cup and higher pressure outside the cup. Gases then are being “sucked” from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. I hope I explained that right. This experiment also shows how candles need oxygen to burn.
We asked questions and explored the answers in the most simple terms I could find. I wanted my kids to really grasp that fire needs air to be able to burn. The other science might be understood better as they get a bit older, but it is still good exposure. It still helps them become curious about their world.