Many sources are available to teachers looking for classroom activities about oil.
Recent events in the news have handed science teachers many opportunities to teach their students about oil and its nature and effects. Teachers have many resources from which to draw to introduce their students to this topic. Various government and nonprofit agencies have developed programs and activities geared toward educating students about oil and how it impacts different parts of the environment.
Liquid Density
According to National Geographic Xpeditions, a simple classroom exercise to demonstrate the various density of liquids is one way to teach students about one important property of oil. In this experiment, students mix a variety of liquids (vegetable oil, light corn syrup or glycerin) with water and note the results. The students go on to theorize and research what the environmental fallout might be if oil and water did not form separate layers when introduced to one another.
Birds
An activity combining cooking oil and bird feathers shows students how oil can harm birds.
A simple exercise in observing the effects of oil on birds involves students examining bird feathers under magnifying glasses under several different conditions, according to the Minnesota Science Teachers Project. The students examine dry bird feathers, noting their characteristics. They then lay the feathers in a shallow dish of water and again examine them under a magnifying glass. Finally, the students lay the feathers in a dish of water that also contains cooking oil. The students examine the feathers for a third time, specifically noting the differences between the wet and dry conditions and that of the feathers that were exposed to oil.
Cleanup
Given the 2010 oil spill, teachers who wish to teach about the dangers of spills can do so by having students create a model environment and then observe what happens when oil is introduced. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this can be done with simple materials (a cake pan, gravel to represent a shore, water, pipe cleaners to represent animals, dark olive oil to represent an oil spill and a variety of possible materials to use when trying to clean the spill). Students record which cleanup methods work, which don't and why.
Eggs
A simple classroom experiment demonstrates the effects of oil on birds' eggs.
For this activity from the Council for Environmental Education, divide the class into groups. Tell each group to pour cooking oil into a container and place three hard-boiled eggs in the oil. Be sure the students use enough oil to completely cover the eggs in the container. Instruct each group to place the container under a strong light. After five minutes, have a student from each group remove one of the eggs and try to clean the oil off the shell. Instruct the student to peel the egg and observe it again. After 15 minutes, have someone in each group remove the second egg, observing it before and after peeling it. After 30 minutes, ask the students to repeat the process with the last egg. Ask the class to discuss their observations and draw conclusions about what might happen to the eggs of birds whose nests are close to water in which oil has spilled.
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