Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

For my lab report, I have to find out how to make a toy using convection currents. I've got my "toy" and I just have some questions about convection currents in general. I just want to know whatever I can find out about convection currents in addition to what I found online. I figured maybe an expert could provide me wih some perspective on what convection currents are in the point of view of a scientist. I'm not quite sure what I want to know but anything you can provide me is great. Thanks,
Mili (student)

Hi Mili,

It's actually quite hard for us to know how to help you if you don't have a specific question. What have you learned so far in your background research about convection currents? Is there a particular point that you don't understand?

Hi I have a convection currents lab and appendix do for chemistry. We had to make a toy that would work on convection currents do I made a lava lamp out of wax and water in a beaker being heated by a bunson burner. I assumed that as the wax melted from the heat, the wax would stay on the bottom of the beaker and have bubbles be forced up from the convection currents. What ended up happening though was the wax rises to the top as a whole after being heated for a while and then melted at the tip to a liquid and floated. Why did it not melt at the bottom of the beaker? Why did it rise as a whole instead of in sections?

Hi ccrandell,

Is your question about a K-12 science fair project, or is it about a different type of lab? If your question isn't related to a K-12 science fair project, then a different set of online forums would be a better place to post.

Yes it is a project for 11th grade Chem