Walking Water Science Activity for Kids - - Free Printable

The image shows a worksheet titled "Walking Water," which is an activity designed to explore the concept of capillary action. Below is a detailed explanation of the problem and how it can be solved:

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Worksheet Breakdown:

1. Title: Walking Water
- This refers to the phenomenon where water appears to "walk" or move from one container to another through a paper towel.

2. Section 1: What do I think will happen?
- The student, Jennifer, has written: "I think the water will soak up the paper towel."
- This is a reasonable hypothesis based on the properties of water and paper towels.

3. Section 2: Illustrate what happens:
- Three jars are shown:
- Jar 1 (Yellow): Contains yellow water.
- Jar 2 (Green): Contains green water.
- Jar 3 (Blue): Contains blue water.
- Arrows indicate that the water is moving from Jar 1 to Jar 2 and then from Jar 2 to Jar 3.
- The illustration suggests that the water is being absorbed by the paper towel and transferred between the jars.

4. Section 3: Explain what happens:
- This section asks for an explanation of the observed phenomenon.

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Solution and Explanation:

#### What Happens:
The "Walking Water" experiment demonstrates capillary action, which is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of, or even in opposition to, external forces like gravity. Here's how it works step-by-step:

1. Paper Towel Absorption:
- Paper towels are made of cellulose fibers, which have tiny spaces (pores) between them.
- When the paper towel is placed in contact with water, the water molecules are attracted to the cellulose fibers due to adhesion (the attraction between different types of molecules).

2. Capillary Action:
- As the water adheres to the cellulose fibers, it also experiences cohesion (the attraction between water molecules themselves).
- These cohesive forces pull more water molecules into the paper towel, creating a continuous flow of water through the material.

3. Transfer Between Jars:
- If the paper towel is placed across the mouths of two jars containing colored water, the water will move from the jar with higher water level to the jar with lower water level.
- Over time, the water will transfer completely, mixing the colors as it moves.

4. Result:
- In the illustration, the yellow water from Jar 1 moves into Jar 2, and the green water from Jar 2 moves into Jar 3.
- Eventually, all three jars will contain a mixture of the colored water.

#### Scientific Principles Involved:
- Adhesion: Water molecules stick to the cellulose fibers of the paper towel.
- Cohesion: Water molecules stick to each other, allowing them to move as a continuous stream.
- Capillary Action: The combined effect of adhesion and cohesion allows water to move upward or sideways through narrow spaces.

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Explanation for the Student:

In the "Explain what happens" section, Jennifer can write something like this:

> "The water soaked up the paper towel because of capillary action. Capillary action is when water moves through small spaces, like the tiny holes in the paper towel. The water sticks to the paper towel (adhesion) and pulls more water along with it (cohesion). So, the water moved from the first jar to the second jar and then to the third jar, mixing the colors as it went."

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Final Answer:

The water moves from one jar to another through the paper towel due to capillary action, which involves the combined effects of adhesion and cohesion. The water sticks to the paper towel and pulls itself along, transferring from one jar to the next.

Boxed Final Answer:
\[
\boxed{\text{Capillary action caused the water to move through the paper towel, transferring from one jar to the next.}}
\]