Quicksand Project

Anna Wendt Lauren Stanberry

Mr. SpanglerWhitefish High SchoolAdvanced chemistry

Quicksand… in a Bucket!!!

What role does density play in Quicksand?The finer the sand we use, the better quicksand.

Background InformationQuicksand is ordinary sand but saturated.

Reduced frictionMovements cause you to sinkSolid ground that is liquefied by waterIf the water can’t escape from the sand, it becomes liquified The “quick” refers to how easily the sand moves around under the weight of an object

More Background Information

• Flowing underground water– Upward water makes

sand more buoyant• Earthquakes– Shaking ground

increases pressure of groundwater

How did we make this so called Quicksand????•Put a hole in the side of our awesome green bucket•Then put a bunch of little holes in the bottom of our blue bucket. •Put the blanket on the top of the green bucket•Slid the blue bucket in the green bucket with the blanket very snug•Hooked up a hose•Sand in the bucket

First Experiment• Fine Sand• Water coming through

the bottom of the bucket, going up

• Draining the water and testing to see if it worked

First Experiment with Alex

What happened to Alex?• Her foot was able to get

out of the “quicksand” fairly easy, no difficulties

OMG I almost fell over!

We decided to change our experiment a bit

After we tried to figure out what we were even doing.

Lauren, what are you doing?My hand is still in the bucket!

There’s too much Water!!!

We Added SaltAfter trying out 1st Experiment! We Made a new Experiment!!!

• After doing research, we found out that most quicksand is located where there is saltwater.

• So we added ½ pound of salt to our 5 gallon bucket of water and sand.

It’s so cold!

This is our Amazing VideoLauren’s foot in a bucket!!!This concluded the awesomeness of salt in the quicksand. Saltwater definitely makes a difference.

Data and StuffSample773.91 g = 1.19 g/mL650 mL

Concentration of SaltTest 1:.25 lbs of Salt : 4 Gallons of

water

Tested13,779 g = .91 g/mL15,141.6 mL

Concentration of SaltTest 2:.50 lbs of Salt : 4 Gallons of

water

Conclusion• The finer the sand, the better the quicksand.• Having water come up instead of pouring it on

top of the sand works better.• Salt water works better than normal water.• Because our density was only .91 g/mL, we did

not actually make quicksand.

Improvements• Tried different types of sand• Tried creating an “earthquake”• Tried to make a giant pool of quicksand for

everyone to try out and enjoy

Bibliography and Stuff• "HowStuffWorks "How Quicksand Works"" HowStuffWorks "Science" Web. 24 May 2011.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/quicksand.htm>.• "What Is Quicksand & Can You Drown in Quicksand - The Naked Scientists 2007.06.03." The

Naked Scientists Online, Science Podcast and Science Radio Show. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/whatisquicksand-1/>.

• "Quicksand Science: Why It Traps, How to Escape." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0928_050928_quicksand.html>.

• "Quicksand Information @ Deep Sinking." Deep Sinking: The Quicksand Channel. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://deepsinking.org/quicksand.php>.

• "Quicksand Myth Debunked: You Can Float Free | LiveScience." Current News on Space, Animals, Technology, Health, Environment, Culture and History | LiveScience. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.livescience.com/9373-quicksand-myth-debunked-float-free.html>.