Theory Thursday: Water on a Penny

Have you ever taken the time to figure out just how many drops of water will fit on a penny? You know, one day that information will be very vital to your well-being. For instance, you're at the grand prize stage of a game show, and the final question is "How many drops of water will fit on a penny?" Or what if an evil villain is overtaking the world and the only way to stop him is to answer "How many drops of water will fit on a penny?" Or if one day you need a science project for your kids and answering "How many drops of water will fit on a penny?" seems like a good choice for the day. 

See? This is a very important question. One day you'll be thankful you read this post. Trust me.

Start by filling an eye dropper with tap water.

Squeeze a drop of water, one at a time, onto a penny.

Make sure you count each drop as it drips.

The water will create a big bubble. Keep adding drops and counting until it spills over the edge.

 In the meantime, give the toddler his own water and a bulb syringe.

Get some towels to clean up the mess.

 And since this is science, try different approaches of filling the bulb.

Eventually, the others will realize how much fun the toddler is having making a mess experimenting that they'll want to join in.

Get more towels.

Jake made comments like "Yikes! I'm making a mess everywhere like a real scientists." and "I'm making my own scientist potions."

And then came the declaration that made all 3 children laugh hysterically. As he sprayed the water out of the bulb, he said, "I even made it backwash!"

And then I got more towels.

Oh, you're still waiting on the answer to the million dollar question? Well, Jake and Alyssa had a hard time getting a single drop every time they added water. I got 17 the one time I tried. I've heard that you can get anywhere from 25-40 drops on a penny though.

So, go try it yourself so one day, you'll be prepared to save the world.