What are some liquids that won't mix together [read details please]?

Question

In science we have to show how different liquids are less/more dense than each other. So we have to find liquids of different densities and put them in a bottle to show how they will layer. Any suggestions on some household liquids that will layer?

I think water, baby oil, and mayonaise will but I want something that has defined colors.... any suggestion would be great.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Oil and Vinegar
Oil and water
Gas and Water
Alchohol and water

Here is something I found online that may be useful:

Layered Liquids

You will need the following materials:

• ¼ cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup or honey
• ¼ cup (60 ml) dishwashing liquid
• ¼ cup (60 ml) water
• ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
• ¼ cup (60 ml) rubbing alcohol
• a tall 12 ounce (350 ml) glass or clear plastic cup
• two other cups for mixing
• food coloring

Take the 12 ounce glass. Being careful not get syrup on the side of the glass; pour the syrup into the middle of the glass. Pour enough syrup in to fill the glass 1/6 of the way.

After you have added the syrup or honey, tip the glass slightly and pour an equal amount of the dishwashing liquid slowly down the side of the glass. Does the dishwashing liquid float on top of the syrup or sink to the bottom?

Next mix a few drops of food coloring with water in one of the mixing cups. Color the rubbing alcohol a different color in another mixing cup.

Be careful to add the next liquids VERY SLOWLY. They are less viscous (i.e., not as thick) and mix more easily than the previous liquids. We don't want them to mix. Tip the glass slightly, and pouring slowly down the side of the glass, add first the colored water, then the vegetable oil, and finally the colored rubbing alcohol.

On a piece of paper, make a sketch of the glass and its liquids, labeling the position of each liquid in your glass.

Why do the liquids stay separated? Can you think of several ways that the liquids in the glass are different? Try to describe some properties that differ in each of the liquids in the glass.

One property that is different in all of the liquids is color. Another property unique to each liquid is thickness (viscosity).

The property of the liquids that is responsible for the layering effect is density. Can you guess what the relationship is between the density of a liquid and its position in the glass?

Another property that keeps the liquids separate is that some of them are immiscible liquids, in other words they do not mix with each other. As you proved in the first experiment, oil and water are immiscible liquids. On the other hand, water and rubbing alcohol are miscible and will mix with each other. Water and the dishwashing liquid will also mix.

Stir up the liquids in the glass and watch what happens to the layers. Have any of the layers mixed (are they miscible in each other)? Wait a few minutes and look again. Have any of the other liquids separated?


FYI...Mayonaise is an Emulsion. That means that it is a stable solution of normally insoluable liquids in which the oil, the vinegar, and the water has been blended and held together by a stabelizer also known as the egg yolk.

Hope this stuff helps.

Good Luck

Answer 2

You can make four layers as follows, and use food colorings to define the layers:
First layer: maple syrup
Then add oil
Then add water dyed with red food coloring, which if you add it gently, will settle between the oil and the syrup.
Then VERY GENTLY add alcohol that you have dyed with blue food coloring.
Your layers will be maple syrup on bottom, red-dyed water that settled to second layer, oil, and blue-dyed alcohol on top.

NOTE: You can only dye the polar liquids (water and alcohol) and not the nonpolar one (oil). This is because the dye itself is polar and won't dissolve in a nonpolar liquid.

ALSO: If the alcohol mixes with the oil, it doesn't work.

Answer 3

Mayo isnt a liquid.... oil and water work great... even regular vegetable oil.... you can put food coloring in the water and mix well, then the oil will definitely stand out

Answer 4

Any oil. Cookong oil, olive oil, motor oil , transmission fluid (red). Motor oil is black. Some 2-cysle samll engine oils are red. Hope this helps. Good luck. Melted butter, maybe/

Answer 5

Oil and Water.

Answer 6

If you just want color, why not add food coloring?... Olive oil and vinegar... liquid wax and water? ... sorry I cant think of anything else... :-(