Why is water denser than oil

Oil being less dense than water floats on it. Had it been denser than water like iron, it would have sunk. Density is mass per unit volume. It means that if you take a cubic cm cc of oil, its mass is much lesser than a cubic cm of water. It can also be explained by the concept of the buoyant force. The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the water displaced by the oil when the oil is immersed in water.

When oil is in water, the buoyant force is much greater than the weight of the oil. Hence it floats. For example, suppose you want to dissolve 5 cc of oil in water. On adding the oil to water, it displaces 5 cc of water. Now the weight of that much volume of water is much greater than the same volume of oil.

So the buoyant force is greater than the weight of the oil. Therefore oil floats on top of water. While dissolving a liquid in another, we should remember the rule, like dissolves like.

But oil and water are different. The water molecules are polar. They are attracted to each other due to the intermolecular force of hydrogen bonding the bond that is formed when the slightly negative oxygen side of a water molecule is attracted to the slightly positive hydrogen side of another water molecule.

On the other hand, the oil molecules are non polar and are not attracted to the water molecules as much since they are hydrophobic or water fearing. Go Paperless with Digital. Materials 2 clear plastic water bottles with lids 2 cups of water One-half cup of oil olive, cooking or vegetable oils will all work Liquid dishwashing soap Clock or timer Permanent marker Measuring cup Measuring spoon Food coloring optional Preparation Remove any labels from your water bottles.

Pour one cup of water into each bottle. Allow the bottle to sit on a countertop or flat surface while you observe the water and oil. Does the oil sink to the bottom of the bottle, sit on top of the water or mix with it? Does the oil sink to the bottom, sit on top of the water or mix with it? Try not to shake the bottle as you add the dish soap. Make sure the bottle caps are screwed on tightly to each bottle.

Holding a bottle in each hand, vigorously shake the bottles for 20 seconds. Set the bottles down on a flat surface with plenty of light. Note the time on your clock or set a timer for 10 minutes. Observe the contents of each bottle. Hold them up to a light one at time so you can clearly see what is happening inside the bottle. Did anything change when you shook the bottles? Do the mixtures look the same in the both? If not, what is different between them? How would you explain the differences that you observe?

After 10 minutes have passed look at the contents of the bottles and note the changes. What does the oil and water look like in each bottle? Household vinegar consists almost entirely of water, but with some acetic acid molecules dissolved in it.

In general, dissolving stuff in water makes it more dense, making vinegar the densest of the three. Answer : Milk is denser then water. Simply speaking, fat molecules along with proteins sort of hang on to water molecules to form a uniform mixture thereby increasing the density of the milk which is heavier than water.

Sand is heavier than water when the volume of both substances is equal. The density of dry sand is between 80 and pounds per cubic foot, whereas water is 62 pounds per cubic foot. The density of water depends on its temperature. Because oil is less dense than water, it will always float on top of water , creating a surface layer of oil. You might have seen this on streets after a heavy rain—some water puddles will have a coating of oil floating on them.

Sugar dissolves in water because energy is given off when the slightly polar sucrose molecules form inter molecular bonds with the polar water molecules. Sugar is much more soluble in water than is salt. But even sugar has an upper limit on how much can dissolve. On dissolving chalk in water, it does not dissolve completely in water. The chalk powder settles down which can be seen by bare eyes easily.

Therefore, chalk powder dissolved in water is an example of a suspension. Note: Solute dissolves completely in a solvent in true solutions. As a result, if the question is whether vinegar dissolves in water or not, scientifically speaking, vinegar does not dissolve in water; rather, it absorbs water molecules.

Density measures the mass of an object or substance compared to its volume. If an object is heavy and compact, it has a high density. If an object is light and takes up a lot of space, it has a low density. Does honey sink in water? Due to the viscosity of honey, honey is much denser than water.

But as compared to honey it's density is lower, so it floats. Most of milk is water , and the remainder is mostly fat.

Ice and fat are both lighter than water so frozen milk would float. Meaning that the densest heaviest liquid will be on the bottom of the jar and the least dense lightest liquid will be on top. The order of the liquids from heaviest to lightest will be syrup, glycerin, water, oil, and then alcohol will be on top. Liquids that don't mix and stay mixed are said to be immiscible.