Viscosity With Marbles

Students compare how marbles fall through different liquids such as water, oil, syrup, and honey. This simple race demonstrates viscosity, or the internal friction of liquids, and helps students understand why some liquids flow faster than others.

1. Gather several clear glasses or jars and fill each with the same volume of different liquids (e.g., water, oil, syrup, honey).
2. Place a ruler across the tops of the glasses and rest one marble above each liquid.
3. Tip the ruler so that all the marbles fall into their liquids at the same time.
4. Observe which marble reaches the bottom fastest and slowest.
5. Record results and discuss how viscosity explains the differences.

Viscosity Race - FlinnScientific:

📄 Viscosity Experiment With Marbles - Little Bins for Little Hands: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/viscosity-experiment/

• Test temperature effects: compare marbles falling in warm syrup versus cold syrup.
• Try additional liquids such as shampoo, ketchup, or molasses.
• Measure exact times using a stopwatch for more accurate data.

• Use glassware carefully to avoid spills or breakage.
• Clean sticky liquids like honey or syrup promptly to avoid attracting insects.
• Keep marbles away from small children who may put them in their mouths.

• Which liquid allowed the marble to fall fastest? Slowest? Why?
• How does viscosity relate to the thickness or stickiness of a liquid?
• How does temperature change viscosity?
• What real-world examples show how viscosity matters (e.g., motor oil, lava, honey on pancakes)?
• How could you design a fair race to get measurable and repeatable results?