Diffusion

Aim:
To observe diffusion in a liquid.

Equipment:
Petri dish,
water,
tweezers,
a crystal of potassium permanganate.

Method:
1. Half fill your petri dish with cold tap water.
2. Place the petri dish on your work bench and allow the water to become settled.
3. Using the tweezers, place a single crystal of potassium permanganate in the centre of the petri dish.
4. Observe for five minutes.
5. Repeat the experiment using hot water.

Results:
The liquid turned purple, matching the potassium permanganate.

Discussion:
Diffusion happens when the particles in one object (potassium permanganate) shift into the particles of a liquid (water). Simmilar to dissolving, though the particles of potassium permanganate spread around.

It was faster to use hot water, this is because when particles are heated up, they gain heat energy, and move around a lot more, making the shifting of particles faster.