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Cleaning Oil Spills with Chemistry

In this activity, learners will experiment with different methods of cleaning up a model oil spill.

DESCRIPTION

"Cleaning Oil Spills with Chemistry" is a longer activity than many of the others in this kit. Participants will learn how different materials interact, and problem-solve to clean up a miniature model "oil spill." Which method (or combination of methods) works best?

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  • Chemistry oil spill activity materials with dye absorbent cups and tongs
  • Chemistry oil spill activity photo pouring oil into water
  • Chemistry oil spill activity absorbing oil in cup of water
  • participant using tongs to remove oil soaked cotton pads from a cup
  • Participant pouring oil into cup of water
  • Chemistry oil spill activity materials with dye absorbent cups and tongs
  • Chemistry oil spill activity photo pouring oil into water
  • Chemistry oil spill activity absorbing oil in cup of water
  • participant using tongs to remove oil soaked cotton pads from a cup
  • Participant pouring oil into cup of water

DESCRIPTION

"Cleaning Oil Spills with Chemistry" is a longer activity than many of the others in this kit. Participants will learn how different materials interact, and problem-solve to clean up a miniature model "oil spill." Which method (or combination of methods) works best?

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

Chemists use models, tools, and the scientific process to understand our world and to discover and make new things.

Chemistry can help solve challenges and problems in areas like energy, agriculture, health care, and the environment.

LEARNING GOALS

  • Learners will develop positive attitudes toward learning about chemistry:

    • Learners will increase their feelings of interest in chemistry through hands-on exploration.
    • Learners will increase their understanding of the relevance of chemistry by exploring the applications of chemistry.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2018
OWNING INSTITUTION

Museum of Science, Boston

FUNDING

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DRL 1612482. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.