Instructional Video

The Cheerios Effect

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Why does cereal clump together in milk? Scientists answered this question in 2005 with the help of physics and math. A video explains the relationship between buoyancy, surface tension, and the meniscus. It teaches how to attract or repel items based on their positions in the water, or milk, as the case may be. 

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CCSS: Adaptable
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
  • Experiment in class with cereal, thumb tacks, paper clips, and other small items in water
  • Relate this to the position humans assume to float in water
Classroom Considerations
  • When in doubt, avoid the comment section
  • This video is hosted on YouTube
Pros
  • Includes closed captioning in Arabic and English for ease of note taking
  • Requires very little class time
Cons
  • None