Centrifugal Force (Super Science Experiments)

You will need:

1. Bicycle
2. Card paper
3. Duct tape
4. 2 small plastic bottles
   (which will fit between
   the spokes of the cycle
   wheel)
5. Salad dressing (2/3 oil + 1/3 vinegar + 1 teaspoon ful of mustard)

Understand all about centrifugal force by cycling.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First mix the salad dressing well and pour
   the dressing in the 2 bottles in equal parts.
2. Next using the duct tape and card paper,
   create a tube between 2 spokes of the cycle wheel. The tube should be able to hold the bottle inside.
3. Make sure the tube is secured tightly and will not fall off when the wheel turns.
4. Now, tighten the cap on one of the bottles and place it inside the tube.
5. Spin the wheel for 15 seconds. But make sure you have plenty of space and no one around when you do this so that you may not hurt anyone in case the bottle falls.
6. After spinning the wheel, remove the bottle and compare the contents inside with the contents of the other ‘test’ bottle.

RESULT

The oil and vinegar in the bottle that was spun by the cycle wheel would have separated a lot more than the oil and vinegar which was in the bottle that was stationary. While oil and water do not mix and would separate if kept stationary for a long time, the mustard in the dressing doesn’t allow the oil molecules to stick together, keeping the salad dressing a mixture longer. But when the bottle of salad dressing is spun around rapidly, a force is applied on the mixture. This force is known as centrifugal force and is ten times stronger than gravity. Hence, when the cycle wheel rotates, the denser liquid-vinegar, feels a greater amount of centrifugal force than the less dense oil, making them separate a lot faster than the mixture in the ‘test bottle’. This concept is used for separating the components in blood from the water content in it.