Hovering Grape

Create some science magic with a grape hovering in the middle of a glass of water.

What you need:

• glass of water
• sugar
• spoon
• grape

What to do:

1. Put a grape in a glass of water. It should sink.
2. Add sugar to the water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
3. If the grape sinks, continue to add sugar, stirring the water to dissolve it, until the grape floats.
4. Remove the grape and pour out half the sugar water.
5. Tipping the glass, gently pour in some regular water.
6. Put the grape into the water again.

What happens:

The grape should hover in the middle of the water. When you add the regular water to the sugar water, the sugar water stays on the bottom – the sugar water is more dense than the grape, which is why the grape floats in the sugar water. When regular water is added on top, the grape sinks in this layer, but floats on top of the sugar water – seeming to float in the middle. If you look carefully, you might be able to see the two different layers of water.

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