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"Gummy Bear Diving"
You want to know how gummy bear scuba divers can travel under water but not get wet? Find out how by following the instructions below.
What you need:
1 large transparent bowl (the bowl is half filled with water)
1 glass
gummy bears
1 empty tealight candle holder (aluminium)
paper towel
optional: food coloring for the water
How the experiment works:
1. submerge an empty dry glass carefully upside down into the bowl filled with water and pull it out again. How does the inside of the glass feel?
2. put the empty glass into the water again and try to pull it diagonally. What do you see?
3. Place a small piece of the paper towel in the empty tealight container and on top of the paper towel two gummy bears. Now you have a boat for your gummy bears.
4. Put “the boat” in the bowl, which is half full with water.
5. Take the glass and carefully put it upside down over the boat. Tip: Make sure that the rim of the glass is aligned evenly with the water surface.
6. Now press the glass down slowly. What do you observe?
Solution:
There is not “nothing” in an "empty" glass. The glass is “filled” to the brim with air. Therefore, no water can get into the upside-down glass when you are holding it upright and push it down. This way, the gummy bears can travel under water while staying dry within the air bubble. Only when the glass is held at an angle, air escapes upwards and there is “room” for water to get into the glass.
