In this activity, students create a single layer of detergent molecules on water and use measurements and calculations to determine the length of the molecules.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- briefly explain the difference between hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts of a detergent molecule
- explain how to get a single layer of detergent molecules on a water surface
- use simple measurements and mathematical equations to calculate the length of a detergent molecule.
Download the Word file for:
- introduction/background notes
- what you need
- what to do
- student handout.