Make a Homemade Lava Lamp with Water, Food Coloring and Oil

A Third Year Investigatory Project Presented to

Ms. Mary Angelie O.Montemayor

By:

RemielAlquileta

Justin Paolo Mercado

Fitz Gerald Cuenco

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Our group would like to express our earnest gratitude to the people who gave their full support and

assistance for the completion of this project.

To our Chemistry teacher, for the guidance that she gave us for completion of the project.

To the Third Year Class, who gave us the inspiration and encouragement.

And last but not least, to our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave us wisdom and knowledge, without Him,

we wouldn’t have a project.

-Our Group-

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Background of the experiment …………………Page 1-2

Chapter 2 Methodology ……………………………………. Page 3

Chapter 3 Review of Related Literature …………………. Page 4

Chapter 4 …………………………………………………… Page 5

Chapter 5 …………………………………………………… Page 6-7

Chapter 1

Background of the Experiment

1.1 Introduction

They are making a big comeback, but those lamps can also be expensive. This can be a very fun

experiment to do. Rather than an expensive, you can make your own lamp and you can design it in

anyway you want depending on your personality.

This experiment aims to make a lava lamp using only three ingredients. It is composed of water,

food coloring and oil. This experiment proves that it is possible to make a lava lamp using only three

ingredients without buying expensive ones

Lava lamps can be used as a decoration at your home. It can make your guest wow at your

experiment.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine if it is possible to make a lava lamp using only three ingredients.

Specifically, it will seek answers to the following questions:

1. Does the experiment really work?

2. How does it work?

3. What knowledge will I get from the experiment?

1.3 Statement of Objectives

1. To make a lava lamp using only three ingredients

2. To make a lava lamp in the comforts of your own home

3. To compare a homemade lava lamp with a factory made lava lamp

4. To find out how the Lava Lamp was invented

5. To know how lava lamps work

6. To know about the hazards of the lava lamp

1.4 Importance of a Lava Lamp

1. It can provide illumination

2. It can beautify our homes

3. It can relax our stressed minds

1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study

Homemade lava lamps don’t last for a long time unless you use more stable ingredients. You can

use salt. Just put salt in the lava lamp if the bubbles are diminishing. The salt makes the oil heavy and

drags it to the bottom of the jar of water. There, the salt dissolves and the oil is released to make its way

back to the top again! You'll notice a layer of salt after a while on the bottom of the jar. 

1.6 Definition of Terms

Illumination- is the lighting that a place has

Diminish- become reduced in size, importance or intensity

Tapered- gradually thinner at one end

Miscible- capable of being mixed

Alka-Seltzer- is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever

Density-is the relation of its mass or weight to its volume

Blobs- something you cannot see very clearly

Surface Tension- is a property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force.

Simulate- an action or a feeling you pretend that you are doing it or feeling it

Chapter II

Methodology

Materials/Equipments

2.1 Tools

Clear Plastic drink bottle

Container (for ingredients)

2.2 Ingredients

Water

Food Coluring

Cooking Oil

Salt

2.3 Directions

Pour water into the bottle until it is two thirds full. (fig 1.1)

Add a few drops of food colouring to the water. (fig. 1.2)

Pour in a small quantity of oil, just enough to form a  (fig. 1.3)

layer on top of the water. 

Sprinkle a few pinches of salt onto the oil and watch (fig. 1.4)

what happens.

Keep adding salt to make your experiment last longer.

Fig 1.1 Fig. 1.2 Fig. 1.3 Fig 1.4

The standard ingredients for this experiment are Oil, Water, Food Coloring, and Alkaseltzer. We

used the salt as an example for it is easy to use and inexpensive and it easy to find in stores, but alka-

seltzer has a greater effect on the Experiment because it will have a neon glow effect that will make the

home made lava lamp look like a real lava lamp, But instead we use the salt as an example.

The reason why we need alka-seltzer, airborne tablet or salt in this experiment is because of their

density, their density will make the go through the bottom where the water can rise up and have that lava

lamp effect, for example when you pour a salt at the experiment, the salt will cut through the oil which

the water can pass through so it means that the water can rise, then after few seconds the water will go

back at the bottom again, so if you want to make the lava lamp working in long hours or minutes, you

should put a salt on it every time so it will always rise.

The real lava lamp contain a standard incandescent bulb or halogen lamp which heat a tall (often

tapered) glass bottle containing water and a transparent, translucent or opaque mix of mineral oil,

paraffin wax and carbon tetrachloride. The water and/or mineral oil can be colored with dyes. The density

of common wax is much lower than that of water and would float on top under any temperature.

However, the carbon the carbon tetrachloride is heavier than water (also nonflammable and miscible with

wax), and is added to the wax to make to make its density at room temperature just little higher than that

of the water. When heated the wax mixture become less dense than the water because wax expands more

than water when both are heated. It also become fluid, and blobs of wax ascended to the top of the device

where they cool (which increase their density relative to that of water’s) and descend. A metallic wire coil

in the base of the bottle acts as a surface tension breaker to recombine the cooled blobs of wax after they

descend. The bulb is normally 25 to 40 watts. It may take 45 to 60 minutes for the wax to warm up

enough to freely from rising blobs (depending on the original temperature). It may take 2 to 3 hours if it

has been in a cold room for a long time. Once the wax is molten the lamp should not be shaken or

knocked over or the two fluids may emulsify and the wax/blobs will remain cloudy rather than clear.

Some recombination will occur as part of the normal cycle of the lava in container but only means to

recombine all of wax is to turn off the lamp and wait a few hours. The wax will settle back down at the

bottom, forming one blob once again. Severe cases can require much heat-cool cycle to clear.

Chapter 3

Review of Related Literature

A lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel

filled with clear liquid: the wax rises and falls as its density change due to heating from a incandescent

light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pahoehoe lava, hence the

name. The lamps are available in a variety of styles and color of wax and liquid.

History

The liquid-filled inventor proceeded to purchase the equally liquid-filled lamp; whose creator

(Mr. Dunnett) Walker later discovered had died. Walker became determined to make a better version of

the novelty item and spent the next decade and a half doing so (inbetween running an international house-

swap agency and making films about nudism.) Walker worked on improving the lamp with his company

the Crestworth Company of Dorset, England.

Initially local retail merchants thought his lamps were ugly and disgusting. Luckily, for Craven

Walker the "Psychedelic Movement" and the "Love Generation" came to dominate 60's merchandising in

Great Britain and sales of the lava lamp soared. It was the perfect light for modern times, Walker

declared. "If you buy my lamp, you won't need to buy drugs."

Craven Walker perfected a secret Lava recipe of oil, wax and other solids. The original model had

a large gold base with tiny holes to simulate starlight, and a 52 oz. globe that contained red or white Lava

and yellow or blue liquid. He marketed the lamp in Europe under the name of Astro Lamp. Two

American entrepreneurs saw the lava lamp displayed at a German trade show and bought the rights to

manufacture the lava lamp in North America under the name Lava Lite lamp.

Before selling his company, sales of the lamps had exceeded seven million units. Today with over

400,000 lava lamps made each year, the Lava Lamp is enjoying a comeback. Craven Walker's originally

company, the Crestworth Company, changed names to Mathmos in 1995 (a reference to the bubbling

force in Barbarella.) They still manufacture the Astro, Astro Baby, and more Lava Lamps in their original

home of Poole, Dorset, UK.

In 1960 Briton Edward Craven-Walker manufactured different kinds of lamp such as

Astro mini and the Astro Coach lantern, and William M. Rubinstein bought U.S rights to manufacture and

sell it as the Lava Lite via Lava Corporation or Lava Manufacturing Corporation.

Lava lamp is an expensive decoration for our house, it needs many components that

completed the Lava Lamp but in research, we can do it ourselves in 5 easy steps. And even without

buying anything else. Just look in your houses if you have sufficient ingredients.

How about creating your own Lava Lamp, this homemade Lava Lamp has only three

ingredients, this ingredients are Water, Food Coloring, and Oil and also need one item this is the bottle.

To make a Lava Lamp there’s only 5 steps. 1st poor water into the bottle until its two thirds full, 2nd add a

few drops of food coloring to the water, 3rd poor in a small quantity of oil, just enough to form a layer on

top of the water, 4th sprinkle a few pinches of salt onto the oil, 5 th keep adding salt to make your

experiment last longer.

This experiment proves that it is possible to make a Lava Lamp using only three ingredients

without buying expensive ones. So try this in your homes if you don’t have any things to do on your

home.

Chapter 4

Finding

A lava lamp is an expensive decoration for our house; it needs many components that completed

the lava lamp. But this research, we can do it ourselves in 5 easy steps. And even without buying

anything. Just look in your house if you have sufficient ingredients.

The homemade lava lamp has only 4 ingredients: food coloring, water, cooking oil, and salt. With

these we can do a simple lava lamp without expenses. Don’t worry it’s safe to try it out. But if it’s not

done correctly, it won’t work so be careful when doing these experiments.

Actually this experiment has two types. One is the salt type this is the one that is been here in this I.P this

type is simpler than the other ones this is called the salt type because it needs salt for the bubble shape oil

is going to come up. And the other one is the Alka-Seltzer type, it’s also simple. And it doesn’t need a salt

to rise because it has aAlka-Seltzer, it is more beautiful than the salt type because Alka-Seltzer adds an

neon-color effect on the home made lava lamp. But we picked the salt type because it’s simpler to do, and

because we didn’t have aAlka-Seltzer in our homes.

FAQ:

Is it an effective decoration in a house?

-definitely no, it doesn’t work continuously because it is not mechanically operated and it has limitation.

What is Alka-Seltzer Tablet?

-Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever, this tablet is colorful due to its flavor when it is

dissolved, that makes the water have a color in it

How the salt does affects the movement of the homemade lava lamp?

-Because the dense of the salt can pass through the oil which the water can cut through then the water can

rise up again

Results

In the salt type homemade lava lamp, it is effective but it is has only limited time that the oil will

rise and become lava-lamp like effect. Because the salt reacts with the oil that makes it rise to the stop. So

rise again and that lava lamp effect back in your home made lava lamp.

Chapter 5

Summary

Now that you have learned, you should go and Try this at Home! This Homemade

lava lamp is easy and fun to make, so don’t hesitate to do the experiment because it is safe, oil is quite

edible, water is also safe, and of course salt and food coloring, This experiment has limitations so if

you’re planning to use this experiment as a house decoration we recommend that you should not,

because it doesn’t last that long, this experiment is perfect for having fun, because it is not

mechanically operated and it has limited ingredients too.

The Home made lava lamp is easy to learn, on 5 simple steps you can make your own

beautiful homemade lava lamp, if your tough enough to search for Aka-seltzer or airborne tablet then

go and find them for the sake of homemade lava lamp madness, because it has better effects than the

salt, the Alka-seltzer tablet will make the lava lamp effect last longer and it can make the lava lamp

look more gorgeous when you used the Alka-seltzer tablet, but if you don’t want to find, then use the

salt way, there are so many ways to make this simple but fun experiment.

Conclusion

The home made lava lamp has limitations, it cannot last forever, and it will not rise up

to the top without having a salt in there. And you’ll get tired of putting and putting a pinch of salt if

you want the home made lava lamp rise forever. But it is perfect example on Chemistry activities.

because you will not use it again after you done with it. So for me it’s advisable that the home made

lava lamp will use as a décor because it will not last forever.

Recommendation

We recommend this experiment for those who want to have a chemistry activity, or

having fun with friends or siblings because they’ll learn something too. And we also recommend

trying the other type of homemade lava lamp, the Alka-Seltzer Type. Because it has neon like effect

on experiments and the Alka-Seltzer is longer lasting than the salt type.

If you want to make your Experiment look more fun, then go and found Airborne

tablet or Alka-seltzer tablet if you want the experiment to look more colorful, more fun, more

enjoyable, more CUTE and more cool, because it will have a neon effect on it, and it also glows when

you put Alka-Seltzer on it, you can think many ways to enjoy the homemade lava lamp with Alka-

Seltzer tablet that you’ll put, you can make fun of it by turning off the lights then run around like a

little kid while holding you’re experiment, it will look like you’re having a lava powers because of its

glowing effect then play it with your friends! You will enjoy it surely

Bibliography

We created this research through the use of Internet and some reference books

References:

http://www.google.com.ph/

http://www.answer.com/

http://www.wikihow.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/