Summary

In this activity, students will investigate solubility by using a combination of washable markers and permanent ink to color a paper flower. The petals of the flower will be folded, and then placed in a shallow dish of water. Students will be intrigued by the outcome as they observe several changes occur. Using their knowledge of several fundamental chemistry topics, student will explain their observations using evidence and modeling.

Grade Level

Middle School and Elementary School

NGSS Alignment

This activity will help prepare your students to meet the performance expectations in the following standards:

• Scientific and Engineering Practices:
  • Developing and Using Models
  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Objectives

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• Explain that some inks are water soluble, while others are not water soluble.
• Describe on a basic level that solubility depends on the types of particles that make up the substance(s).
• Understand fundamental chemistry terms including mixture, solubility, soluble, insoluble, miscible, concentration, diffusion.
• Provide a simple definition for the process of diffusion and provide an everyday example of it.
• Create a model based on observations.

Chemistry Topics

This activity supports students’ understanding of:

• Solubility
• Diffusion
• Observations

Time

Teacher Preparation: 10-15 minutes
Lesson: 45 minutes

Materials

• 2-3 Paper Flower Cut-Outs (use printer paper)
  • Template available for download in the sidebar
  • Precut shapes can be purchased at art/craft stores
• Black marker/pen, “permanent” ink
• Various colors of washable, water-based markers or pens
• Scissors
• Small plastic plates to hold swallow amount of water (white preferred)
• Water
• Pitcher/cup
• Timer
• Paper towel

Safety

• No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

• This activity was inspired by and modified with permission from the 2023 ChemClub Middle School Art & Chemistry Resource Packet. It was developed as a way for young students to visually observe the concept of solubility and diffusion.
• A template has been provided for the paper flowers cut-outs. These should be printed on regular printer/copy paper. Card stock or heavy paper will not work for this activity. Depending on the age of the students, teachers could ask students to each cut 2-3 flowers for use in the activity.
• Using pre-cut paper flowers will reduce the amount of preparation time needed for this activity, however it’s important to ensure that the pre-cut flowers are not made on card stock/heavy paper.
• Small plastic plates can be used by each student in this activity. White plates will help to see the colorful results. If individual plates are unavailable, larger trays/bin can be shared between two students. Only a small amount of water is needed for the activity. The bottom of the plate or tray should be covered in water, the exact quantity used is not important.
• Teachers should note that the water will need to be changed after each flower “blooms”. Much of the washable (colorful) ink from the flower will diffuse into the water. As the various ink colors mix, the water will turn brown/black. Results are best if fresh water is used frequently so that students can see the ink diffuse into the water. To help with this, premade cups of fresh water, or a pitcher of fresh water could be made available for easy refilling.
• When coloring the flower, encourage students to use a lot of ink on each petal. Next, it’s important that the flower is folded so that the colored petals appear on the outside of the flower, not the inside.
• During the activity, students will observe that the washable (colorful ink) will easily mix (dissolve in) with water. First, the ink will diffuse through the paper to the white side of the flower, making it colorful. The black ink (or any permanent ink) used will remain on the paper flower and will not transfer into the water. As time passes, the colorful ink will also diffuse into the water on the plate creating a colorful pattern.
• In the modeling section (analysis question #2), encourage student to use symbols, arrows, and descriptions to visually describe what has happened after 2-minutes, and after 10-minutes.
• Refer to the Answer Key document for additional details and examples of student responses.
• Expected results at 2-minutes and 10 minutes are shown below:

• Additional resources to consider using with this activity:
  • Animation: Classifying Matter
  • Demonstration: Analyzing Mixtures
  • Activity: Elements, Compounds & Mixtures, Oh My!