Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi I'm looking to find a project that will only require only a condiment (ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, etc.) Packet or a straw and other every day easily accessible things. I'd love to be able to share a quick experiment that can be easily done again and again with things you may find at a fast food restaurant.

Do any of you have any suggestions?

Snowblind,

Thanks for your question, and welcome to the forum. Here are a couple of ideas.

This link is an experiment using ketchup packets to demonstrate pressure and buoyancy.

http://physicscentral.com/experiment/ph ... mander.cfm

But, ketchup, mayonnaise, and several other household "liquids" actually belong to a class of substances known as "sheer thinning fluids". This means that when at rest, they act more like a solid, but once you get them moving, they flow like liquid. This is why trying to get the ketchup out of the bottle initially seems impossible, then all of a sudden your food is drenched in the stuff. And experiment along these lines would be investigating viscosity, and how ketchup and similar items behave in a non-Newtonian manner, unlike water and other liquids.

http://www.planetseed.com/laboratory/ke ... ck-or-thin
http://io9.com/5808583/the-physics-of-the-ketchup-drip