Hooked on Science: Salt and marble race

Materials

* Salt

* Marble

* Canning jar with lid

Instructions

STEP 1: Place the marble in the jar.

STEP 2: Fill the jar three-quarters of the way with salt.

STEP 3: Screw the lid on the jar and shake the jar up and down.

Explanation

As you shake the jar up and down the marble and salt are moving at the same speed. Since the salt is smaller and weighs less more friction is created as the pieces of salt move against each other. This slows down the salt and allows the marble to push to the top.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website Hooked On Science at hooked onscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.