Diffusing The Rainbow
When I was a kid, I always thought it was funny to eat some sort of colorful candy and then show off my tongue’s new hue.
Our experiment “Diffusing the Rainbow” will let us learn the science behind just that.
As we work through our experiment today, we will be discussing all the steps of the scientific method.
OBSERVATION: When our tongues change colors with the candy we are eating, we notice that the color of the candy and the color in our mouth match.
QUESTION: So what do we want to know? Why does the color of the candy transfer to our tongue?
HYPOTHESIS: A hypothesis is like a guess, a pretend answer to your question. Your hypothesis should come from your own brain, based on things you already know, see, read, or hear. What’s your guess? Is it magic or is it science? What do you think is the reason for the rainbow in your mouth?
EXPERIMENT: Now it’s time for our experiment!
The materials you need are:
- Plate or container (preferably white)
- Warm Water
- Skittles
Now that we have everything we need, let’s get started!
1) Arrange Skittles around the outer edge of the plate or container.
2) Carefully pour water into the container; if the Skittles move, quickly push them back into place.
3) Wait and watch as the colors expand!
ANALYZE: Time to analyze! Skittles, like many other candies are covered in food coloring and sugar. When you add warm water to the Skittles, the water is a solvent so the sugar and food coloring start to dissolve.
The chemicals then move from themselves where there is a lot of them together and try to find a place that has less of those chemicals. In the end, the chemicals do their best to even out the amount of the chemicals in the entire space. This is called concentration gradient or diffusion.
Now go back to your hypothesis, did your hypothesis match what you observed in the experiment?
CONCLUSION: Whether you were right or wrong in your hypothesis, it’s doesn’t matter. You still learned something, which means it’s time to come to our conclusion.
Why does the color transfer to our tongue after eating skittles or sucking on a lollypop? Our candy is full of food coloring and sugar (chemicals) and when they are introduced to our tongue and our saliva (a solvent), over time the chemicals will transfer to our tongue through diffusion to make the chemicals more equal between the two.
Want to change it up?
- Try placing the Skittles into a different shape. Which directions do the colors flow?
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