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One plus one doesn't always equal two, as your friends will find out when they mix
rubbing alcohol with water! See why these substances are more than the sum of their parts.
What you'll need:
- a large measuring cup
- a three-quart pot or bowl
- a spoon
- a quart (or four cups) of rubbing alcohol
- a quart (or four cups) of water
What to do:
- Put one quart of water in the pot, then pour in one quart of rubbing alcohol.
- Stir the water and alcohol well.
- Use the measuring cup to measure the volume of the mixture.
What happens:
Your friends will end up with a combination of two liquids that's noticeably less than two quarts!
Why this happens:
Part of the water-alcohol mixture seems to disappear because of the space between the molecules of
water and alcohol. When these two particular liquids are combined, the alcohol molecules slip
between the spaces of the water molecules. This creates a smaller combined volume for the two
liquids,hence the strange shrinking illusion.
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