Pepper+Water

Here's a fun little experiment you can play on someone. It's fun as a little joke, or can probably be used in the classroom.

What you'll need: a small bowl, some pepper, and water.



Next, fill the bowl with some water:

Next, crack some pepper into the water so that the top of the water is covered with pepper:

Once this is done, have one of your friends insert their finger directly into the center of the water. What happens?

That's right, nothing! Pretty exciting, huh? ...but wait, next, put your finger into the water, and what happens?

The pepper instantly runs away!

For classroom purposes, discuss what could have caused the pepper to react in this way. (Hint, there's a missing ingredient not mentioned here.) What is it about that ingredient that causes the pepper to react as it does?