Rubbing Alcohol vs Styrofoam | Surface Tension Experiment

Let me know in the comments how far you were able to get your boat to go? Hey, welcome back to Kids Fun Science! Today, we're diving into some fascinating **science experiments** with a fun **do it yourself** project: a styrofoam boat powered by rubbing alcohol. This engaging **homemade science** activity is perfect for **science for kids**, showing you **how to make a boat** that moves with chemical reactions. Rubbing Alcohol vs Styrofoam | Surface Tension Experiment Isopropyl Alcohol Styrofoam Boats Experiments Made for parents and teachers Science Kits and more https://elementarysciencen.wixsite.com/sciencekits Hefty Soak Proof Foam Disposable Plates 20 ct. https://amzn.to/3ec4Rdp Pipettes https://amzn.to/32lVsKZ Kids Fun Science Online Store https://teespring.com/stores/kids-fun-science My Filming equipment: Cell Phone Tripod 54 inch Travel Tripod with Bluetooth Remote - https://amzn.to/34REzbB Blue Yeti USB Microphone - https://amzn.to/3ePJwGu Green screen & lights - https://amzn.to/2XT9Yc1 Apple iMac 21.5in 2.7GHz Core i5 8GB memory - https://amzn.to/34ZMIe7 iPhone 8 - https://amzn.to/3byn4zw iMovie for editing Chapters 0:00 Kids Funs Science Intro 0:08 What you need 0:29 SOAP BOATS 2.0 information 0:36 set up 1:59 boat measurements 2:11 1st Experiment with Isopropyl Alcohol boat 3:46 2nd experiment Soap boat A boat powered by isopropyl alcohol and the Marangoni Effect. For more information https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed400316a Water molecules are strongly attracted to each other and stick close together. This creates a strong but flexible "skin" on the water's surface called surface tension. Surface tension allows the boat to float on top of the water. Adding soap disrupts the arrangement of the water molecules. The water molecules near the detergent are attracted to the detergent as well as to other water molecules, so the surface tension of the water behind the boat decreases. Water molecules move from areas of low surface tension to areas of high surface tension. The boat is pulled towards areas of high surface tension by the water in front of the boat. This does not happen with Isopropyl alcohol as it is not is not a surfactant, but rather is miscible with water, the alcohol molecules completely dissolve in the water. The alcohol molecules do not pile up on the surface of the water and therefore do not lower the surface tension of the water. This is why you can keep adding Isopropyl alcohol and keep the boat going, where as you can not with the dish soap as it breaks the surface tension. Results Isopropyl Alcohol boat went 18 feet (5.49 m) 1st 5 ft took Soap Boat 8.5 ft (2.59 m)