Class 1

Why did the milk and food coloring interact the way that they did?

             The class was assigned a lab involving types of milk, food coloring and dishwater soap. With a partner we drew our hypothesis and then verified it in the lab. We believed that the dishwater soap and amount of fat in the milk would impact the reaction. We had a plate with fat free milk and a plate with Half n Half' milk. Then we put drops of food coloring in each plate of milk. Soon after we put a drop of dishwater soap into the milk, the food coloring shifted. We observed that the Half n Half' milk bursted with the colors for a period of time, while the nonfat milk spread the colors and immediately stopped. We tested three times and uncovered the same results. We noticed that milk is made up of mostly water, but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins and fat.The cause of the food coloring mixing in different directions lies in the chemistry of the dishwater soap. Dishwater soap has a bipolar characteristic (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), which weakens the chemical bonds in the milk. The drop of dishwater soap lowers the surface tension so that the food coloring can move around freely. The hydrophilic end dissolves in water and the hydrophobic end attaches to the fat in the milk, which is how detergent helps lift off grease from dirty dishes This causes the food coloring to be pushed around and moved in the milk. The food coloring will slowly stop mixing after all the fat molecules have found their partner.

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