Activity: No Water off a Duck's Back
Materials
several large bowl
several measuring cup
water
cooking oil
different dishwashing detergents (liquid or powder- small containers)
paper towels
sponges
string
Procedure
1. Divide students into work groups and assign each one a bowl.
2. Fill the bowl half full of with water.
3. Measure 1/4 cup of oil and pour into each bowl of water.
4. Gently shake the bowl to create "waves". (you might also want to have them stir them as “gentle” is open for interpretation) Did the oil and the water mix?
5. Now try to clean up the oil using a paper towel. Let each group discuss how they are going to do this. Give them only one or two paper towels to work with.
6. Give each group a piece of string next. Have them try using the string to make a border around the oil and try to drag the oil to one side of the bowl.
7. Now try using the sponge to soak up with oil.
8. Finally, give each group a DIFFERENT type of detergent – about a spoonful each – and have them try to clean up the oil with each kind of detergent.
9. Before you let the kids sit back down, have them make a round to check out the final progress of each bowl.
10. At the end of the experiement, have a group discussion and let each group report on the success of each method. What was most effective? Least effective? Did the detergent make a difference? Did the type of detergent make a difference?
Extensions Ducks keep their feathers waterproof by spreading oil from a special gland onto their feathers. However, if excess oil gets into streams, lakes, or oceans, as in an oil tanker spill, it can be harmful to ducks and other water birds.
Oil is one of the most common pollutants in our water. You have probably heard of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. It happened at Prince William Sound in Alaska. Tragedies like this do not happen often, though. Most of the oil in oceans gets there when oil tanks on ships are rinsed while at sea.
When ducks and other waterfowl come in contact with oil floating on top of the water, their feathers become matted. Oily, matted feathers lose their ability to insulate. Because of this, the birds can die from the cold. Also, when the bird tries to clean the oil off of its feathers, it may swallow some of the oil which can lead to stomach ulcers. The only way to save the oil covered birds is to scrub them with detergent, like you might scrub a greasy pan. But this is not a perfect solution. It is very expensive and takes a long time to clean birds.
In this activity you will try several ways to clean up an oil spill. These ways are similar to the ones used by clean-up crews in real life spills. Although oil spills do not happen in all areas, it's good to know how hard it is to clean one up.