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Fill a pie plate halfway with water. Add a few drops of food coloring so that you'll be able to see the oil better. (Blue or green contrasts well with yellow oil)
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Add 2 mL (1/2 teaspoon) of oil. Does it mix with the water?
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Create a wind by blowing gently across the water. What do you think happens to oily water in a storm?
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Drag the feather through the oil. How do you think birds are affected by oil spills?
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Try to clean up the oil spill in the water with a cotton rag. Next, try the nylon stocking and then a paper towel. (Add more oil if needed) Which one works best? Can you get all the oil cleaned up?
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Now half-fill the other plate with water and create an oil spill. Add about 2 mL (1/2 teaspoon) of dishwashing liquid. What happens this time? Where does the oil go? Is the water clean now?
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What's Going On?
Real oil spills are very damaging to water plants and animals. The thick oil coats birds' feather so that they can't fly. Shellfish caught in an oil spill can't reproduce. And cleanup methods are not perfect. Chemicals that act like detergents break up the oil into smaller droplets, but the toxins from the oil are still in the environment. And often the chemical detergents are pollutants, too. Soaking up the oil with absorbent materials such as cotton and nylon is expensive and slow. What happens to the oil that doesn't get cleaned up?
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