Experiment 2.

1: Sticky Oil, Slicky Clean

Materials:

 One pan (about 10in x 14in) in which to build the habitat

 Water
 Cooking oil (10-15mL)
 Small containers or paper cups to serve as tankers
 Habitat:
Rocks toy animals made of plastic
Sand feathers (preferable untreated)
Sticks pieces of animal skin, leather, fur, hair
 Cleaning materials:
Hay cotton balls
Sponge cotton swab
Gauze toothpicks
Paper towels dishwashing detergent
Piece of cloth laundry detergent
 Drinking straw
 Medicine dropper
 Tweezer

PROCEDURE:

1. Use the materials to build the “island habitat” at the center of the pan. Cover the toy animals with feathers and other
animal skin and fur. Place these toys animals near the shore.
2. Pour water to surround the island and fill the pan to a depth of about 1-2 inches.
3. Imagine that the island is a passage for a shipping lane. Float the small containers simulating the supertanker
passing near the island.
4. Simulate an oil spill by spilling oil on the water and plastic animals.
5. Oil spills can also occur during stormy weather. Simulate this event by blowing on the straw to make waves over the
surface of the water. Add more oil and repeat the process to simulate the weather.
6. Use the different cleaning materials (one at a time) to clean up the oil spill. Add more drops of oil after each cleanup
process.
7. Use the timer to know how long the cleanup process takes for each cleaning materials. Record the time for each
material.
8. Use toothpicks, cotton ball, paper towel, gauze and dropper to recover as much oil as possible. Use tweezer to
handle the paper towel, gauze and cotton balls.
9. Create another oil spill in some part of your island. Add five drops of liquid detergent directly on the oil. Gently stir
the water to mix the detergent and oil. Record your observations. Do the same with the dishwashing liquid.
10. Completely fill out the data table. Make sure you research about the cleaning strategies for an oil spill to correctly
categorize the different materials used.