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Lesson
Class #: “The Great Bulge” Course Science
Title/Focus

PROGRAM OF STUDY OUTCOMES

5-7: Students will describe the properties and interactions of various household liquids and solids, and
interpret their interactions.
- 5-7-5: Students will recognize that the surface of water has distinctive properties, and describe the
interaction of water with other liquids and solids.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Students will make predictions about the experiment, then create a diagram and fill out their
observations about the first experiment.
2. Students will define surface tension and cohesion.
3. Students will participate in their own experiment about surface tension.

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

 Plastic cup  Water
 Pennies  Student Booklet
 Eye droppers  PowerPoint

PREPARATION AND LOGISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

 Ensure all students can see the first experiment, group them around the table in an orderly
manner.
 Simplify the steps, making sure students can write it down as we go.
 Utilize the board to write down the different definitions/diagrams/observations for students.
PROCEDURE
Introduction Time

 “Today we are going to explore surface tension! We will both be doing 2 super
awesome experiments today! You might remember these experiments from
last year, but it is my first time being a scientist today!”
 “First, we will be exploring an experiment called The Great Bulge, where I
will have a full cup of water and I will be putting pennies into it and see how
many I can put in before the water overflows the cup!”
 “If you look at your science booklet, at the top of the page there is a spot for
5 minutes
our predictions! It says: “I predict that blank pennies will slide into the full
glass of water.” In this spot, you will write your prediction! Maybe its 0, 5, 10,
or 20! Give me a thumbs up when you are all done.”
 *Go around sides to make sure that all students have completed this portion,
and their predictions are realistic and written in the correct place.
 “Awesome! Now we will put our pencils down, and listen very closely for
your next directions.”
Body Time
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1) “Let’s leave our papers where they are, and everyone stand
up. I need the shortest people in the class to meet me up at
the front to sit down where I need you to go!”
2) “Perfect, now let’s get the middle students lined up… and
now the tallest! Can everyone see the cup on the table?”
3) “Don’t worry about not writing things down, I will write
them down for us to use after! What are our initial
observations before the experiment starts? Right! The cup
of water is REALLY full. Since it is REALLY full, I need you
The Great Bulge all to be careful and make sure you are not bumping the
Predictions & table, students, or me! Does that sound like something you 10 minutes
Experiment can do? If not, I can move you to watch from a safe
distance! That way you don’t miss out on anything.”
4) “Now, lets start putting the pennies in but I need you to
keep count of how many pennies I am adding! So you’ll
count along with me. Ready? I’m gonna slide in one….”
*put in slowly, at 3-5 ask students what they see- remember
for observations for after, then continue putting pennies
in.*
5) “Wow! I was able to put in ___ pennies! Now let’s return to
our desks to fill in some of our page!”
1) “How many pennies were we able to put in? Right! Let’s
put that next to our initial prediction, “I found out that
___pennies were able to be slid into the water.”
2) “Next up, lets create our diagram. We can start with the
cup, the pennies at the bottom- and the most important part
The Great Bulge  the Great Bulge at the top of the cup!”
Diagram & 3) “What did we see when we watched the experiment? At 10 minutes
Observations first, the cup was full but had no pennies in it, then as I
added the pennies in- what happened? What did the cup
look like with all the pennies in it? What happened when
there were too many pennies in the cup?”
4) **Fill in on the board in big and clear writing for the
students to copy into their own booklets. **

1) “There are some blank definitions to fill in below

observations, the first one is surface tension! Surface
tension is what happened with the water at the top of the
cup because of how strong the surface of the liquid is!
Surface tension is the cohesion of molecules/particles.”
2) “The next definition is cohesion! Cohesion is the force of
Definitions 5 minutes
attraction between the particles (or molecules!) of a
substance.”
3) “Water is super cohesive! We see this in its strong surface
tension.”
4) Ensure all students have their definitions written down, but
do not take more than 7 minutes to complete this.
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1) “Now that we have completed the first experiment, we
have one more to go! This one is an experiment for you,
but I need you to listen while I explain the instructions,
otherwise you will not be participating. Everyone
understand? Thumbs up or down!”
2) “You will be experimenting with surface tension with
pennies, but this will be a little different. Drop by drop,
you will be putting water onto your penny to see how
Pennies & many drops you can place on it before the surface tension
Drops breaks and the water flows overtop the penny.”
7-10 minutes
Instructions & 3) Before we do this, lets practice using an eye dropper! With
Practice your cup, you will squeeze your dropper like *this* then
dip it in the water, letting go of the top then bringing it up,
and you will carefully press on the top again to get drops
falling out of the dropper into the water again”
4) “You need to make sure that there are drops falling, not a
crazy stream, because our experiment will only work if
you use single drops!”
5) “Let’s practice doing it on our own for a little, then we will
begin the real experiment!”

1) **Only give students a penny if they demonstrate that they

can use the dropper properly on their own without aid*
2) “Once you have a dropper you can begin your experiment!
Pennies & Make sure you are keeping track of how many drops of
Drops water you put on the penny so we can fill out the question 10 minutes
Experiment. on the bottom!”
3) “When you are totally done your assignment, put your
hand up and I will collect your dropper and penny, then
you can put your science away and read until math!”
Conclusion Time
 *When all students have completed* “Awesome job today, does anyone have
any questions about surface tension or cohesion?” 5 minutes
 “How did our experiment teach us about surface tension?”
Assessment
 Formative assessment in student comprehension and explanation of surface tension, and through
their individual experiment.

Additional Notes: