How is the behavior of food coloring in the cool and heated water different? What caused the differences in their behavior?

Diffusion is the mixing of substances due to the movement of their particles. This can occur with all sorts of matter, but is most commonly observed in liquids and gases. Typically, diffusion refers to the movement of molecules from high concentrations to lower concentrations. The rate of this movement depends on the energy of the molecules. Think of how delicious smells from your kitchen take longer to get into your bedroom than to your living room which is located right beside the kitchen. That is because the molecules from the food odor haven’t diffused into that space yet. In this experiment, you will experience how temperature affects the mixing of food coloring drops with water.

The food coloring mixes through the hot water faster than it mixes with the cold water. This is because in hot water, the water molecules have more energy and are moving faster than the molecules of cold water. This makes it easier for the dye to get mixed throughout the hot water. Because diffusion happens from high concentration to low concentration, the more molecules are moving, the more opportunities they have to mix together.