Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi!

My daughter is in 3rd grade and she is doing the sedimentation project as outlined on Science Buddies. We have been waiting for almost 2 weeks and the water isn't completely evaporated. We can see the layers through the water bottle and it is really fascinating to see which substances landed in the different layers as well as how compact everything has gotten.

However, I want to make sure the water evaporates and the sedimentation hardens so we can cut through it. Do you have any suggestions at this point on how to accelerate evaporation. The water is at the level of the substances, mixed in. The project is due on April 10th.

Thank you!

Lisa Ferraro

Hello,

This project sounds really fun! This project takes on average 6-10 days, so it is a little odd that your water still hasn't completely evaporated after 2 weeks. The reason why the water is not evaporating may be because you have put it in a cold area or you put too much water. Also, was the cap of your bottle on or off? Maybe having the bottle cap off will significantly increase the rate at which the water evaporates. I would suggest keeping the bottle in a very sunny place to increase the rate of evaporation. You could also potentially use a fan. There are still about 10 days until April 10th, so I'm sure the water will evaporate before then if kept in a sunny place!

Good luck and hope this helps!
~Catherine M.

Lisa, How did it go? Did the water evaporate in time? -ER