celery and food coloring experiment explanation

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Celery Food Coloring Experiment

Capillary action, the fascinating phenomenon of liquids moving through narrow spaces without external forces, can be easily demonstrated using celery and food coloring. In this simple science experiment , we observe how water, dyed with food coloring, travels up the tiny vessels in the celery stalks!

By immersing celery in colored water, we can witness firsthand how this natural process drives fluids against gravity! Get started below and see for yourself. Explore biology easily at home or in the classroom with our science experiments for kids .

More Easy Experiments That Demonstrate Capillary Action

• Color Changing Flowers
• Walking Water
• Leaf Veins Experiment
• Broken Toothpick Experiment
• Grow A Rainbow

Celery and Food Coloring Experiment

Explore the process of water moving upward through the plant’s stem and into the leaves. It defies gravity!

• Celery Stalks (choose as many as you like to color and one extra if you choose to set up a science experiment. too) with leaves
• Food Coloring

Instructions:

STEP 1. Start with nice crisp celery. Cut the bottoms off the celery so you have a fresh cut.

Don’t have celery? You could try our color changing carnations experiment !

STEP 2. Fill the containers at least halfway with water and add food coloring. The more food color, the sooner you’ll see results. 15-20 drops, at least.

STEP 3. Add the celery sticks to the water.

STEP 4. Wait 2 to 24 hours. Make sure to observe the process at regular intervals to note the progress. Older kids can make drawings and journal their observations throughout the experiment.

Notice how the food coloring moves through the celery’s leaves! Water is making its way through the cells of the celery, as indicated by the color.

Note the red food coloring is a bit tougher to see!

How Does It Work?

How does water travel through a plant? By the process of capillary action! We can see this in action with the celery.

The cut celery stalks take up colored water through their stem, and the colored water moves from the stems to the leaves. Water travels up tiny tubes in the plant via the process of capillary action .

What is capillary action? Capillary action is the ability of a liquid (our colored water) to flow in narrow spaces (thin tubes in the celery) without the help of an outside force, like gravity. Plants and trees couldn’t survive without capillary action.

As water evaporates from a plant (called transpiration), it pulls more water up to replace what has been lost. This happens due to adhesion forces (water molecules are attracted and stick to other substances), cohesion (water molecules like to stay close together), and  surface tension .

What is the difference between capillary action and osmosis?

The process of osmosis also involves the movement of water. However, capillary action is driven by surface tension and the interactions between the liquid and solid surfaces, while osmosis is driven by differences in solute concentration across a semi-permeable membrane.

Capillary action is often observed in the movement of liquids in narrow tubes or capillaries. At the same time, osmosis is a process commonly observed in biological systems involving water movement across cell membranes.

Capillary action can occur in both upward and downward directions, depending on the specific conditions, while osmosis generally occurs from an area of lower solute concentration to higher solute concentration.

Check out fun ways to explore osmosis here.

How To Apply The Scientific Method

Extend this celery and food coloring experiment by applying the scientific method for older kids ready to delve deeper into the scientific realm. This structured approach to inquiry involves formulating hypotheses, conducting experiments, collecting data, and drawing conclusions.

Start by encouraging students to ask questions such as “What factors could influence the movement of water through the celery?” Some examples are the concentration of food coloring, the amount of time the celery is immersed, or the temperature of the water.

Ask kids to make predictions about how changing the variables might affect the results. For instance, they can predict what will happen if they use more food coloring, leave the celery in the colored water longer, or change the water temperature.

Have them develop a hypothesis based on their initial observations and then design an experiment to test it.

Older kids can better understand the scientific principles by altering variables, recording measurements, and analyzing results. This extension challenges them to think critically and apply analytical thinking.

Learn more about applying the scientific method with examples and how to choose variables.

Free Printable Science Process Pack

Extend the learning opportunity by creating a science journal with our free science process pack for kids!

Helpful Science Resources

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• 8 Science Books for Kids
• All About Scientists
• Free Science Worksheets
• Science Supplies List
• Science Tools for Kids

Why Is Science Important For Kids?

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, test, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change like they change! Indoors or outdoors , science is definitely amazing!

We are always eager to explore chemistry experiments , physics experiments , and biology experiments ! Biology is fascinating for kids because it’s all about the living world around us. Activities like this celery experiment show us how water moves through living cells.

Explore how water travels through a plant with a simple demonstration you can do in your own kitchen with just a few items! We love kitchen science that is not only easy to set up but frugal too! Learn about capillary action with a couple stalks of celery and food dye.

More Fun Science Experiments To Try

Explore plant experiments , water science experiments and more.

• Potato Osmosis Lab
• Walking Water Experiment
• Drops of Water On A Penny
• How Do Plants Breathe
• Growing Gummy Bears Experiment

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If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

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• Be a Collector activities pack  introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
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The Celery Experiment and How Plants Absorb Water from their Roots

Description.

Clear glass jars, cups or small clear vase

Fresh Celery stalks with leaves. Preferably the lighter leafier stalks near the center.

Food Coloring

• Explain experiment. We are going to find out how plants absorb water and grow. See Educational note for more.
• Separate and select stalks of celery with leaves. Cut about a quarter inch off the bottom. The lighter stalks near the center will show the most color.
• Put about 8 ounces of water into glass jar or vase.
• Drop 3-4 drops of food coloring into jar.
• Place stalks into the water and using stalk stir very gently until food coloring is dispersed evenly.
• Have child/class make predictions about what will happen. Write it in a simple sentence and "point and read" together.
• Make 2-3 observations and write them down. Check at intervals depending on availability, you will see slight results after 3 hours, significant results overnight and again at 48 hours.
• Cut the bottom of the celery and you can see where the water was transported up into the celery stem.

If you plan to do only one color, consider selecting blue. We found blue to have the most vibrant results. The colors we tested were purple, red and blue, green and orange. The blue was significantly brighter. After trying this three times, we noted the blue water level goes down the quickest.

Use the lightest, innermost stalks for this experiment. The darker green did not show the colors as well and were less healthy in comparison with the lighter green stalks.

Be sure to trim the bottom of the stalks with a knife or shears (adult step). Examine the bottom after 24 hours to see where the water is being drawn up into the stem. Blue showed this the most clearly of all the colors.

• Select either the loop or the hook side to place on the board. If you select the hook side, you will always use the loop side for your cards.
• Place a dot at the top for the title and 3-5 more dots in a row under it. You may want two rows of dots
• Glue pictures of the experiment onto cardboard or construction paper and stick on a velcro dot on the back of each. Remember to use the opposite piece as the one you put on the board for the pictures to stick.
• Have your child place the pictures in the correct order. For older toddlers you can print a simple sentence about each picture as well, cut out and mount on cardboard and match the sentence to the picture.

• Take pictures of the major steps in this toddler science experiment, glue onto construction paper and add a sentence for each by printing on a computer or handwrite neatly. Have your child tell you the sentence or phrase if they are able to. Your child is more likely to be able to "read" something he or she says. This is also a great way to help reinforce and build comprehension skills.
• Another example of osmosis can be used with carnations. Use the same materials and steps above. You will have very pretty results!
• Take pictures of the entire process Dropping coloring into glass, placing the stem into the colored water, Glue onto separate pieces of cardboard. Have your child place in the correct order on a flat surface. Or cut out the pictures, have your child arrange them and glue them onto a single sheet of construction paper and display.
• A book is a great way to introduce a toddler science activity. Go to the library or a bookstore and find a book on plants.
• Plants absorb water through their roots through a process called transpiration. The water travels up tubes in the stems to all parts of the plants, and is used during photosynthesis to make food for the plant. When food coloring is added to the water, it travels with the water into the celery's stem and then into the leaves. Plants also absorb nutrients from the soil through the roots and up through the phloem in the plant's stems. The food coloring illustrates how nutrients are delivered to all parts of the plant.
• Seeing the color of the celery leave change and the level of the water going down.
• Hearing and listening to directions given.

Communication

• Oral Explanation of how plants absorb water
• Pictorial Showing pictures of plants in a book

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Color-Changing Celery Experiment

This exciting experiment illustrates transpiration, the process of plants absorbing water through their roots. The water travels up tubes in the stems called xylem to all parts of the plants and is used during photosynthesis to make food for the plant. When food coloring is added to the water, it travels with the water into the celery’s stem and then into the leaves. The food coloring illustrates how nutrients are delivered to all parts of the plant.

This experiment will take 12-24 to see full results.

This popular experiment was shared with us by the International School of Louisiana. Find the protocol here or see a video demonstration here .

There are no files associated with this lesson.

Materials Needed for this Lesson Plan

• Color-Changing Celery Kit

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Celery Science Experiment

• Elementary , Everyday Materials , Experiment , Pre-School , Science Experiments

36 Comments

While I’m an art educator by trade, having small people pull at my pants has turned me into a mini-alchemist who’s suddenly found herself reading books to her kids about Galileo and brewing all sorts of concoctions in our kitchen (vinegar and baking soda, anyone?). Preschoolers are simply curious and see no boundaries between art and science, making this celery experiment a wonderful early STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activity for young children.

The celery science experiment is easy to achieve with basic kitchen materials and it’s embedded with all sorts of opportunities for introducing the scientific method (in short: asking scientific questions, making predictions, and conducting an experiment).

• Celery with leafy tops
• Clear glasses
• Food coloring

The Celery Science Experiment

N poured water into three glasses. about 3/4 cup in each.

Then she added a few drops of food coloring — 5-8 drops, but who’s counting! — into the glasses and stirred with a piece of celery, which was left in the glass. And then we talked about what might happen if we left the celery in the colored water for a while.

We oohed and ahhed over the lava-lamp effect of the food coloring as it hit the water.

The Scientific Method: Make Predictions

We started off with red, yellow, and green, but N really wanted to mix colors and added blue and red to the green water (far right). We revisited our earlier discussion and made predictions about how the celery might change.

While waiting for something to happen, I chopped the celery heart off the bottom of the stalk and set up a printing activity.

N humored me by making a few prints and then asked if she could play with colored water. Totally!

While I only have one photo of this, it was probably the highlight of the afternoon.

When we checked the celery a couple hours later, this is what it looked like. I put a leafy top next to it so you can see how subtle the change is. Hmmm. While I could see the change, I wasn’t sure it would make a big impact on my daughter. And then I realized that I should have just put the leafy parts in the water for a more dramatic result. Done!

A few hours later the blue/green had the most pronounced shift, but the red and yellow were visibly different too.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the red and blue-green died celery tops, about 16 hours after the stalks had been sitting in the water. N seemed to appreciate the difference, but wasn’t nearly as impressed as her dad and I were.

Why does celery absorb food coloring?

In terms that preschoolers can understand…

Plants need water to survive and they draw water up from their roots through their capillaries. The capillaries are hollow and act a lot like a straw. Adding color to the water helps us visualize this usually invisible process.

I did this activity with my boys using Queen Anne’s Lace, and this year it’s probably good timing to repeat it with my daughter. Queen Anne’s Lace has small, delicate white flowers in a cluster, so the effect is noticeable and pretty. (Also, another name for Queen Anne’s Lace is Wild Carrot–the scientific name is, I believe, Daucus carota–and if you pull one up by the roots you can see how the root resembles a carrot–it smells a little carroty too).

A big hit with my boys when they were younger was comparing the melting rate of ice cubes. We put one on the counter, one on the fridge, and one on the deck, and then we observed them and wrote down our observations, every ten minutes or so.

LOVE the idea to use this flower!! Thank you for that tip!

Queen Anne’s Lace would be an incredible way to do this activity — so rewarding and bright once it soaked up the color.

Your ice cube melting idea reminds me of a chocolate melting experiment I did in the 6th grade – put one bar in the trunk of the car and one on a hot sidewalk. I lived in LA, and I think they melted at the same rate! Ha.

Good idea ! I have old celerys and we move in 1 week. Time to use them !

Good thought — no need to cart celery along on the move. Good luck with that! I hope it’s smooth and stress-free.

This is one of our favorite things to do! You have to be sure to use A LOT of food coloring to turn them faster. 🙂 One of our favorite things to do is to make rainbows! We actually enjoy doing it so much and with so many different mediums that my daughter made this her Science Fair project. She entered at her school (she is only in Kindergarten, but she takes some 2nd grade courses so she had the option to enter if she wanted) and she took 1st place in the K-2nd grade category!!!! All these little projects instill in them a desire to learn, and grow! So many people think I am wasting my time doing these things every day and yet she remembered our foray into rainbows so much that she turned it into a prize winning project! (all of which she did at school under the watchful eye of her teachers so that it couldn’t be said that anyone’s parents did their projects for them!!)

Oh, Michelle, this is so fabulous. When we create an environment that supports creativity and critical thinking at an early age, we set children up for a future of independent thinking. It’s awesome that you helped your daughter follow her interests from such a young age. Do people really think you’re wasting your time? Send them my way if you’d like 🙂

Looks like your daughter N had great fun! You are setting your daughter up to be a great scientist/artist! Love to see how you make everything look so amazing to do! You should write a book with all these experiments and great photography! I would buy it!

Hi Melissa ~ You’re the best! I’ll direct all potential publishers to this post to read your comment 🙂 I’ve always been a visual communicator, and find that sometimes pictures tell a better story than the words I might choose.

It can be a bit tricky with science experiments sometimes to know which ones are going to impress your children. My kids’ favourites are ones where you mix things together – like seeing what things will dissolve in water, bicarb and vinegar volcanoes and different kinds of slime. I wrote about our most recent science experiment, using marbles to explore inertia, this week at http://adventureskids.blogspot.com/2011/04/inertia.html

That is SO cool. I’ll be bookmarking that for when my little ones are a bit older. Your blog is great — thanks for sharing!

Thats a fantastic idea… love such fun learning tips:)

Thanks Roopa 🙂

thank you help me with my science project thank you.

Next time I buy celery, we are going to have to try this. I think my son would really enjoy seeing the change in the celery.

I bet he would! I always buy it for a stalk or two, and find that I usually have too much left over. Very frustrating, and clear that I need to find more celery-rich recipes!

Who woulda though celery? I always have leftovers from the bunch – no one seems to like to munch on them over here. I guess a science experiment will be in the future.

Aren’t the simple parts of the activity always the funnest, the ones that you didn’t plan?

Thanks for supporting It’s Playtime this week, I hope to see more of your ideas, as I always do, next Thursday too!

Jamie @ hands on : as we grow

it’s so true that the unplanned parts are almost always the most enjoyable…probably because they’re spontaneous! Look forward to your next Playtime 🙂

I did this experiment with my nearly-3-year-old daughter last week. The Usborne book I got the idea from suggested cutting the bottom of the celery stem in half and standing each half in a different colour food colouring. This leads to a lovely 2-colour-effect stem, with the leaves on each side of the stem being a different colour – it even interested my daughter!

Angela! That is such a cool idea…and now I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it 🙂 We will have to try that next time. Thanks for sharing1

Love the concentration on N’s face as she is pouring the coloured water. Gorgeous 🙂

Thanks, Christie! The concentrated looks always help us know when a project is going well, no?

Oh gosh, this takes me right back to childhood – this was one of our favorite experiments at home growing up.  We could get the celery really bright red and thought it was sooooo awesome!

This is sooo cool, I will be doing this with my little girl for sure.  You can also do the same thing with daisies :D 

This is so fun because there are so many different things all in one! The color changing, te playing with coloured water and stamping with the base! I’ve only done this with carnations, which is fun, and pretty – you can even split the stem and put each side in a different cup and get a two-tone flower! I guess it’s similar to the queen Anne’s lace idea, we just don’t have that near us!

we did this, it was a hit in our house! http://alessandrahayden.blogspot.com/2012/06/celery-experiment.html

I did this experiment with my KG daughter today. I like your idea of using the cut off heart as a stamper. I usually pull my stalks off, but today, I decided to just cut the whole end off and it was so pretty – looked like a flower!

When I was in school, we did this with white Carnations. I also saw a similar experiment where you take the Carnation and split the bottom of the stem into four. You take each piece of the stem and put it in a differently colored cup of water, and it makes a rainbow-looking flower when it’s done. 🙂 Pretty sweet.

Organized content is the best way to display or post an article, thank you for making it easy to digest your

Saw a little one do this with a carnation. She split the stem into 4 parts and put each part into a different color and ended up with a rainbow flower!

I LOOOVEE THIS

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Science Project Ideas

Celery Experiment

This easy science project is as good to be done with preschoolers and kindergarten kids, as with grown up children in the lab, or at science fairs. It is a great activity to make the concept of how plants get their nutrition from the soil clear to the young, ever-inquisitive chaps. Remind them to keep their worksheets ready before starting.

Celery Food Coloring Science Experiment

The leaves and trimmed ends of celery stalks get dyed when placed in colored water.

• A tall, clear jar or glass
• Red food coloring (or eosin dye)
• Large celery stalk with leaves
• Half fill the tall glass with water.
• Add 4-5 drops of red food color and mix nicely.
• Trim the bottom of the celery stalk neatly.
• Place it in the glass. Leave it overnight.
• Make your observations. You may record the data carefully in a chart if you are making observations every 2-3 hours.

You will see that the leaves get a red tint. When you take the stalk out of the water you can watch small dots of red color at the trimmed end. You may rip the stalk open to observe a pronounced coloring effect. If you want, you can mark the initial level of water with a chalk and later you will find that the level has gone down.

Celery Experiment Video

Explanation.

Plants draw water and minerals from soil through the capillaries or tiny tubes in their stems known as xylem. This is known as capillary action that is nothing but the pulling of the water up to the leaves and other parts of a plant, just like you suck on a straw. Another important phenomenon that is responsible for the upward movement is osmosis due to which the dyed water enters the cells of the celery, giving rise to turgor pressure that eventually draws the liquid up. This action is facilitated by the transpiration (the slow, continuous loss of water from the leaves of a plant) of the water molecules that are already present in the leaves.

You can also try

• Put the celery stalk in salt water and check the changes after 4 hours
• Put it in freshwater and report the results after the same time period as above.

Since the salt water is a hypertonic solution (less of water and more of salt), due to osmosis, the water from the celery cells passes on to the solution making the plant soft and mushy. On the other hand, the opposite happens in the second case making it rigid and stiff.

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Celery Food Coloring Experiment: DIY Science Project Ideas for Kids

Have you ever wondered if celery can be any other color than green? Is it possible to have blue or red celery? Yes. With the celery food coloring experiment, you’ll be able to make your own rainbow-colored celery. Kids often have trouble understanding their science lessons.

Performing such science experiments for kids helps them understand complicated science concepts like capillary action. Additionally, this celery food coloring experiment also helps kids understand how plants absorb water.

Step-by-Step Instructions on Celery Food Coloring Experiment

Here is a step-by-step guide to performing the celery food coloring science experiment:

What You’ll Need?

Performing the celery food coloring experiment is very simple and needs very few things. Here is a list of things you’ll need to perform the experiment:

• 6 Mason jars
• Leafy celery stalks
• Red, blue, green, pink, purple and orange food coloring (you can use any food coloring of your choice)
• Pen and paper

How to Perform Celery Food Experiment for Kids?

Follow these directions to perform the experiment and create your own rainbow celery stalks.

• Fill each of the mason jars with water until it’s half full. 
• Add 2 drops of red food coloring into the 1st jar and 2 drops of blue food coloring into the 2nd jar. Similarly, add 2 drops each of the green, pink, purple and orange food coloring into the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th jars. 
• Trim the ends of the celery stalks and place one stalk in each of the jars. 
• Place the jars by a window or a place with good sunlight for a few hours.
• Check after 3-4 hours and see if there’s any change in the celery stalks. Note down the changes.
• Now, let the jars sit undisturbed overnight and check them the next morning. Note down the changes.

What You’ll See?

After 3 – 4 hours, you’ll notice that part of the celery stalks have changed color. When you check the celery stalks the next morning, you’ll notice a significant change in the color of the celery stalks. The stalk and leaves would’ve changed color and turned the same color as the liquid in the jars. 

Remove one of the stalks from water and cut it in half. You’ll notice that there are several colored dots inside of the celery stalk. These are the tubes that absorbed the water and transported it to the leaves. 

Science Behind Celery Food Coloring Experiment

So, how did we end up with rainbow colored celery stalks? Let’s learn the science behind the celery food coloring experiment to understand why the celery stalks changed color.

• Why did the celery stalks change color?

The celery stalks changed color because the stalks absorbed the colored water. 

Celery stalks are made up of tiny tubes called xylem. And not only celery stalks, these tubes are present in all plants. The celery stalks absorb the colored water, which travels through the xylem to the leaves. This phenomenon is called capillary action. A plant’s roots absorb water from the soil, which then travels through the xylem to every part of the plant by capillary action. 

• What is capillary action?

Capillary action is the process by which nutrients, water or any liquid moves through something solid or a material with a lot of holes. The liquids are usually transported through structures like tiny tubes or straws using forces of cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension. 

Capillary action is how plants transport water absorbed by the roots to other parts of the plant. Similarly, our bodies also use capillary action to move the blood to all parts of our body. 

• What are the tiny colored dots you see in the celery stalk, when you cut it?

The tiny, colored dots that you see in the cross-section of the celery stalk that is cut are called xylem. These are the tube-like or straw-like structures that transport the colored water up the celery stalk to the leaves. The xylem, which is in every plant, transports water and nutrients to all the parts of the plant.

How to Perform Rainbow Celery Science Experiment?

Still curious about capillary action and the rainbow-colored celery stalks? Then you should definitely go a little further and experiment more with the celery stalks. 

What You’ll Need:

• 1 celery stalk with lots of leaves
• 3 mason jars with red, blue and green colored water

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Take the knife and split the celery stalk lengthwise. Cut it only about halfway up the stalk, so you can divide it into 3 parts. ( You can use any of the stalks you used in the experiment above.)
• Place one part of the celery stalk in each of the 3 mason jars with the red, blue and green colored water.
• Let it sit for 24 hours, then check the celery stalk. How colorful is it? Do you see a magical, tri-colored celery stalk? What colors are the leaves? Note down your observations.

Check our kids learning section for more experiments, activities and other learning resources.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Celery Food Coloring Experiment

What does the celery food coloring science experiment show.

The celery food coloring experiment shows capillary action. It helps us understand how plants move water through the xylem in their stem to the other parts of the plant.

What do you need for the celery water food coloring experiment?

For the celery food coloring science experiment, you’ll need celery stalks with lots of leaves, food coloring, water, and mason jars.

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The Chaos and the Clutter

Colourful Celery Experiment

By Sharla Kostelyk

(This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy .)

Hands on learning is so much more effective for retention. This particular experiment uses simple items that are cost effective and easy to find rather than expensive, hard-to-find materials. 

Colourful Celery Experiment:

Supplies needed:

• celery stalks
• food colouring

Instructions:

• Fill the plastic cups a little more than half full with water. 
• Add some drops of food colouring to each cup (one colour per cup) and stir.
• Cut the bottom ends off celery stalks.
• Place one freshly cut celery stalk in each cup. 
• Invite kids to make a hypothesis. What do they think will happen? Depending on their age, they can colour a picture or write out what they think will happen.
• Each child can watch what happens and write or colour their observations.

For older kids:

If you’re doing this experiment with kids who are older or are capable of a deeper understanding,  you can expand the learning into how water moves from the roots in the soil to other parts of the plant or tree such as the leaves and stem. This takes place in the xylem which are vein-like tubes similar to the capillaries in the celery. 

Here are some links for further research on this:

• Thirsty Plants: How Plants Get Water from the Soil to their Leaves
• Evapotranspiration and the Water Cycle
• Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure

For younger kids:

If you’re doing this with littles, you can get out a magnifying glass and take a closer look at the capillaries at the bottom of the celery. Note that they are hollow, kind of like little straws. Once the coloured water has risen in them, you’ll be able to see the colour at the entrance of the capillary. 

For her science fair presentation, our daughter showed pictures of the process, wrote out the process, and drew what happened. We put all of it on a tri-fold presentation board and she was able to answer the judges questions about what she had learned through this. 

Check out some of our other awesome science activities:

(pdf, 99KB). and then, . . and it's essential for moving water to all parts of plants, even to the tops of the tallest trees. The experiment with a stick of celery reveals that this happens through special tubes, called , which take up the food colouring. . Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Amazon Favorites Search this website A Dab of Glue Will Do Little Learners, Big Ideas PS PK K 1 2 Celery Science Experiment I'd love it if you shared! Pinterest 1.1K Use this celery science experiment will teach children how plants absorb water from the ground . Using just a couple of common kitchen supplies, this activity is easy to set up at home or in the preschool or kindergarten classroom. Getting the Celery Science Experiment Ready We headed to the kitchen to gather a few simple supplies: Food coloring Freshly cut celery stalks The kids wanted to dye their water blue and purple so they added about five drops of food coloring to each jar. We dropped one stalk of celery into each jar and then sat back to watch what would happen. How Do Plants Drink Water? It takes a little while for anything visible to happen. While the celery was hanging out in the colored water we talked about how plants drink. I asked the kids how very tall plants get water all the way up to their highest leaves and branches . The kids had lots of very funny creative ideas! I guided the discussion and asked questions to lead the kids to the conclusion that plants absorb water through their roots in the ground. Water moves from the roots up through the stem and into the leaves through tissue called xylem. We looked closely at the cut celery stalks and could see the xylem. They look like tiny circular veins running up through the stalk. After about an hour we started to see little blue dots appear on the cut celery. As we studied closer we could see that the blue water was moving up the celery stalk through the xylem! We left our celery science experiment overnight to develop. The next morning we could easily see how the celery “drank” the colored water. Not only could we see colored water in the xylem, but we could also see how the edges of the stalk were tinged with blue and purple . The kids were ecstatic! How the Celery Science Experiment Works As mentioned above, water moves through plants through the xylem . But how does the water defy gravity and move upward to the very highest leaves of a tree? The answer lies in capillary action , which is defined as the process that plants use to pull water up from the ground. There are several factors at play that make capillary action happen. First is the force of adhesion , which is the attraction between water molecules and plant fibers. Second is the force of cohesion , which is the attraction of one water molecule to another water molecule. Third is transpiration . When water evaporates from the leaves, buds, and petals of a plant, more water is drawn upward to fill in the empty space. It is similar to what happens when a person sucks water through a straw. All three of these factors combine to enable a plant to draw water from the ground and distribute it throughout the entire plant. Doing this celery science experiment makes it easy to see how capillary action works! More Science Activities and Ideas Walking Water Science for Kids Science Notebook Plants Unit Want science planned for you ALL YEAR LONG?! Do you want science planned for the ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR !? This Endless Science Mega Bundle will save you so much time and keep your students engaged and excited about learning . This amazing resource contains 53 science topics  including  life science , physical science , earth science , and animal studies . You May Also Enjoy These Posts Leave a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed . Cooking & Baking / Kitchen science / Celery & Food Coloring Experiment This simple experiment with celery and food coloring will thrill kids and teach them science! Ages: 3 - 8 30 minutes - 1 hour A little messy Grownup needed Materials you'll need food coloring Step-by-step tutorial Use the pipette to get food coloring into the water. Final result! Cut up the celery and place it in the colored water. Wait for the color to change! Get DIYs like this delivered to your inbox! You might also like, top categories burst graphic, get hands-on projects, delivered. Winter Wonderland Advent Calendar Santa's Railroad Advent Calendar Wind Play Lab Advent Calendar Bundle (2-Pack) Light-Up Haunted House $19.95 $24.95 4.8 Christmas Village Advent Calendar Have some materials at home? Share what you made & tag us at #kiwico . Celery Lab (Phloem & Xylem) What You Need: Red food coloring Microscopes Knife to cut thin cross-sections of celery What You Do Fill your glass half full with water. Add eight to ten drops of red food coloring to the water in the glass. Use a spoon to stir the water and food coloring. Put the stalk of celery in the glass. The leaves should be at the top! Leave it alone for several hours or even overnight. Come back and look at the celery—cut a cross section and view under the microscope. What Happened? On a cutting board, use a knife (with help from an adult) to make a cross section of the celery stalk. Look at the celery stalk. You will see lines or what we sometimes call “strings” of the celery are red. On the outer edge of the stalk you will also see little red dots. We see evidence that water is absorbed or sucked up by a plant. It travels up the stalk and then into the leaves. This is how water is conducted and circulated in plants. You may have fun trying this same experiment with Queen Anne’s Lace or a white carnation. Note:  This experiment requires some leaves, since a plant’s circulation is powered by “transpirational pull”—the leaves “breathing.” You will also get better results if you cut the bottom of the stalk (or flower stem) to expose a fresh edge that has not become clogged or dried up. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Quick Links Supported by, for authors. Sciencing_Icons_Science SCIENCE Sciencing_icons_biology biology, sciencing_icons_cells cells, sciencing_icons_molecular molecular, sciencing_icons_microorganisms microorganisms, sciencing_icons_genetics genetics, sciencing_icons_human body human body, sciencing_icons_ecology ecology, sciencing_icons_chemistry chemistry, sciencing_icons_atomic & molecular structure atomic & molecular structure, sciencing_icons_bonds bonds, sciencing_icons_reactions reactions, sciencing_icons_stoichiometry stoichiometry, sciencing_icons_solutions solutions, sciencing_icons_acids & bases acids & bases, sciencing_icons_thermodynamics thermodynamics, sciencing_icons_organic chemistry organic chemistry, sciencing_icons_physics physics, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-physics fundamentals, sciencing_icons_electronics electronics, sciencing_icons_waves waves, sciencing_icons_energy energy, sciencing_icons_fluid fluid, sciencing_icons_astronomy astronomy, sciencing_icons_geology geology, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-geology fundamentals, sciencing_icons_minerals & rocks minerals & rocks, sciencing_icons_earth scructure earth structure, sciencing_icons_fossils fossils, sciencing_icons_natural disasters natural disasters, sciencing_icons_nature nature, sciencing_icons_ecosystems ecosystems, sciencing_icons_environment environment, sciencing_icons_insects insects, sciencing_icons_plants & mushrooms plants & mushrooms, sciencing_icons_animals animals, sciencing_icons_math math, sciencing_icons_arithmetic arithmetic, sciencing_icons_addition & subtraction addition & subtraction, sciencing_icons_multiplication & division multiplication & division, sciencing_icons_decimals decimals, sciencing_icons_fractions fractions, sciencing_icons_conversions conversions, sciencing_icons_algebra algebra, sciencing_icons_working with units working with units, sciencing_icons_equations & expressions equations & expressions, sciencing_icons_ratios & proportions ratios & proportions, sciencing_icons_inequalities inequalities, sciencing_icons_exponents & logarithms exponents & logarithms, sciencing_icons_factorization factorization, sciencing_icons_functions functions, sciencing_icons_linear equations linear equations, sciencing_icons_graphs graphs, sciencing_icons_quadratics quadratics, sciencing_icons_polynomials polynomials, sciencing_icons_geometry geometry, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-geometry fundamentals, sciencing_icons_cartesian cartesian, sciencing_icons_circles circles, sciencing_icons_solids solids, sciencing_icons_trigonometry trigonometry, sciencing_icons_probability-statistics probability & statistics, sciencing_icons_mean-median-mode mean/median/mode, sciencing_icons_independent-dependent variables independent/dependent variables, sciencing_icons_deviation deviation, sciencing_icons_correlation correlation, sciencing_icons_sampling sampling, sciencing_icons_distributions distributions, sciencing_icons_probability probability, sciencing_icons_calculus calculus, sciencing_icons_differentiation-integration differentiation/integration, sciencing_icons_application application, sciencing_icons_projects projects, sciencing_icons_news news. Share Tweet Email Print Home ⋅ Science Fair Project Ideas for Kids, Middle & High School Students ⋅ How to Do a Celery Science Experiment Science Experiments With Plants for Kids Science is never easy but it can certainly be fun. The "Celery Science" experiment is a classic demonstration in the primary classroom. It clearly demonstrates how water moves though plants and teaches the students what a "control" is in any experiment. Get into character. Before I teach any science experiment I leave the room and re-enter as "Dr. Science." I put on a lab coat and some glasses to get into character. The kids think it's hilarious. Lab coats are not diffucult to acquire. Walk into a hospital or doctor's office and they will probably give you one if tell them you are a teacher. Show credentials if necessary. Or, try a medical uniform store. Explain to the students that just as people have veins to make our blood flow though our bodies, plants have veins that water flows through. The plants "sucks up the water" from the dirt and the water flows through the plant. Ask the students, "How can we tell the water is going through the plant?" They will probably not come up a viable way so ask them, "What if we put colored water in the cup with a piece of celery sticking out? Would we see the water flow through the celery?" Give each student a cup and a piece of celery. I usually let them choose the color of their water. Place a piece of celery in a cup with regular (clear) water and explain to the kids that this is the "control." We need to see what happens to celery when we just put it in clear water. Let's make sure that the leaves do not turn different colors on their own." Expect the kids to spill if you are letting them pour and mix their own cups of water. Place each child's cup on a 3x5 card with their name on it. Do this for the "control" cup also. Observe the celery the next day. If the celery was in red water the tips of the leaves should be turning red. You can the cut into the celery and see that the veins are filled with red water. Things You'll Need Related articles, combine physics with art with this crayola paper flower..., easy indoor rainbow experiments, how to grow a potato in water for a science project, science activities for 3- to 5-year-olds, science fair projects on plants: do they grow faster..., the best science fair project ideas, at-home science: color mixing experiment, how to turn a glass of water with red dye back into..., how to do the paper in the cup experiment in class, how to experiment with coffee filters to explain how..., why do plants lose water, plants found in lakes & ponds, how to make an ecosystem for kids with pop bottles, diet of a leaf insect, fruit themed science activities, plants that have ink properties, how to remove chlorophyll from leaves, how to build a dam for a school project, what is a responding variable in science projects. About the Author This article was written by the CareerTrend team, copy edited and fact checked through a multi-point auditing system, in efforts to ensure our readers only receive the best information. To submit your questions or ideas, or to simply learn more about CareerTrend, contact us [here](http://careertrend.com/about-us). Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GO Login | Register Have 10% off on us on your first purchase - Use code NOW10 Free shipping for orders over $100 Available for dispatch within 2 days Free gift with purchase of over $100 Check out with Paypal and Afterpay Celery transpiration Follow FizzicsEd 150 Science Experiments: You will need One bunch of Celery One cup of Water (roughly 400mL) Food Colouring One sharp Knife and chopping board (adult help please!) Somewhere to leave the experiment undisturbed Instruction Use adult help when cutting the celery Take one stick of celery off the bunch and cut the bottom 2 cm off of the stick. Careful; choose a length of celery that won’t tip over your cup of water when it’s placed in the cup. Add some food colouring to the cup of water (make the colour quite dark). The celery should be able to lean against the cup without tipping it over. Put the cut end of the stick of celery into the cup of darkly coloured water. Leave the cup and celery for at least half an hour. Check on the leaves regularly to see if there is any discolouration at the ends of the leaves. The celery changes to a shade of blue… Observe the differences in the celery. How did this happen? Did the food colouring cause this? Look near the outside of the cut celery stem… Cut the celery stick around halfway up, and have a look at the inside of the stem. Can you see where the food colouring went? Try testing different variables (different colours, different plant types, sugar or salt in the water etc). Get the Unit of Work on Plant Biology here! Learn about the parts of a flower Discover how vascular tissue transports water & sugars around the plant Learn about plant pigments and adaptations to the environment From photosynthesis to transpiration & more, there’s a heap covered! Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too! Online courses for teachers & parents – Help students learn how science really works Why Does This Happen? You should have seen that the food coloured water travelled up the stem of the celery and into the leaves. How does food colour get up there? Gravity should be holding the water down, right? Water is found all the way through the celery: in the stems, the leaves and the roots. The water in the leaves of the celery evaporates through the surface of the leaves, and this leaves space inside the leaves where the water was. This process is called transpiration. That new empty space inside the leaves creates a low pressure, and like a drinking straw, this low pressure allows water below the leaf to travel up the stem. You’ll see the little tubes the water travels up when you cut the celery stem, and you can see the colour up in the leaves. These tubes are called Xylem and are part of the plant’s vascular system. This how plants transport the water and nutrients from the soil up to the very highest leaves. By the way, the tubes that transport sugars from the leaves downwards are called phloem). Variables to test More on variables Does warm vs cold food colouring influence the speed of the experiment? Try flowers in food colouring Run this experiment on a hot vs a cold day Does cutting off the leaves at the top of the celery make a difference? Learn more! From  basic ecology  and  digital microscopy  to  plants for life , we’ve got your living things unit covered! Get in touch with FizzicsEd to find out how we can work with your class. Plants for Life Years K to 6 Maximum 30 students Workshop (NSW & VIC) 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Biology Madness Science Kit Stem full day accelerator - primary. Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Be Amazing! How to teach science, the way primary kids love. Love science subscribe. Receive more lesson plans and fun science ideas. SCIENCE PARTIES Calendar of events. HIGH SCHOOL Science@Home 4-Week Membership 12PM: March 2024 Price: $50 - $900 PRIMARY Science@Home 4-Week Membership 2PM: March 2024 Light and Colour Online Workshop, Jan 18 PM Light and colour online workshop, jan 18 am. Lego Robotics, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024 Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024 Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park July 11 2023 Price: $100 Fizzics Education STEAM Day: Robots vs Dinosaurs, Lalor, Apr 14 Price: $45 - $50 Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park April 14 2023 Science@home after school 4-week membership: march 2023. Price: $40 - $1200 2 thoughts on “ Celery transpiration ” the experiment was fun and it was wicked Awesome! Glad you enjoyed this science activity 🙂 Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Science at Home for Kids Easy and fun science experiments using household items! Follow us on Instagram @scienceathomekids for more cool science! Colorful Celery I love vegetables! They taste delicious, they’re healthy, and they come in so many fun colors! There are red radishes, orange carrots, green cucumbers, and purple eggplants. Today’s science experiment is going to turn plain, green celery into many other fun colors! What you need: 3 glasses or jars (or more or less depending on how many colors you want) Celery stalks with leaves Food coloring Fill each glass about halfway with water. Add different colors of food coloring to each glass (these will be the colors that the celery turns into). I used blue and red food coloring, and I combined yellow and red food coloring to make orange. I would not suggest using green or yellow food coloring because they will not change the color of the celery significantly. Cut about 1/2 an inch off the ends of the celery diagonally. This will allow the celery to take up more water. Place an equal number of celery stalks in each glass. It’s best to use multiple stalks in each glass, but if you only have a few stalks with leaves (like me), using just one per color is fine, too. Watch the celery stalks for 1-2 days as they slowly change color! Our celery stalks in the blue and orange water had gorgeous color changes, but the celery in the red glass did not show much change. The veins of the leaves and the tips of the celery are a great place to see the color change. To see the paths in which the water traveled up the plant, break the celery stalk in half and observe the stringy fibers. How do the celery stalks change color? Plants need water to grow and live, just like humans. However, most of the water that plants absorb is from the dirt in the ground. The plant has to have a way to carry the water that is absorbed by its roots up to its branches and leaves, too. Two special properties of water, cohesion and adhesion, help aid this process. Cohesion is the ability of water to stick to other water molecules, and adhesion is the ability of water to stick to other molecules that are not water molecules. Adhesion helps water molecules stick to the inside tissues of a plant and “climb” from the roots to the leaves of a plant. Cohesion helps the water molecules stick to other water molecules and carry them along on the trip up the plant, too! This process of the water traveling throughout the plant is called capillary action. In this experiment, the celery is using capillary action to carry the colored water to its leaves. The colored water is dispersed throughout the plant, and the celery appears to change color. Maisie Escobedo An excellent post, congratulations !! whoah this blog is great i love reading your articles. Keep up the good work! You know, a lot of people are looking around for this info, you can aid them greatly. you’ve gotten an incredible weblog here! Hi, I just found your blog and I like this post in particular. It’s a classic experiment. I remember when I used to do it in school, and now I can repeat the experiment with my kids! Thanks for sharing. Hello! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely loving the posts! I’m bookmarking and will be sharing this to my followers! Superb blog and fantastic style and design. Excellent blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. I would love to get your advice! Thanks a lot! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 364 COMMENTS Celery and Food Coloring Science Experiment Step-by-Step Instructions: Fill each glass or jar with water. Don't go over ¾ way full, leave room for the celery stalk. Add a few drops of different colors of food coloring in each glass. Cut about 1 inch off the bottom of the celery stalks. Place the celery stalks in the colored water. I recommend using the lighter stalks near the center ... Celery Food Coloring Experiment Fill the containers at least halfway with water and add food coloring. The more food color, the sooner you'll see results. 15-20 drops, at least. STEP 3. Add the celery sticks to the water. STEP 4. Wait 2 to 24 hours. Make sure to observe the process at regular intervals to note the progress. Older kids can make drawings and journal their ... Celery Experiment, How Plants Absorb Water in this Science Activity Steps. Explain experiment. We are going to find out how plants absorb water and grow. See Educational note for more. Separate and select stalks of celery with leaves. Cut about a quarter inch off the bottom. The lighter stalks near the center will show the most color. Put about 8 ounces of water into glass jar or vase. Color-Changing Celery Experiment Color-Changing Celery Experiment. This exciting experiment illustrates transpiration, the process of plants absorbing water through their roots. The water travels up tubes in the stems called xylem to all parts of the plants and is used during photosynthesis to make food for the plant. When food coloring is added to the water, it travels with ... Celery Science Experiment The Celery Science Experiment. N poured water into three glasses. about 3/4 cup in each. Then she added a few drops of food coloring — 5-8 drops, but who's counting! — into the glasses and stirred with a piece of celery, which was left in the glass. And then we talked about what might happen if we left the celery in the colored water for ... Celery Experiment Celery Experiment Celery Food Coloring Science Experiment Hypothesis. The leaves and trimmed ends of celery stalks get dyed when placed in colored water. Materials. A tall, clear jar or glass ... Explanation. Plants draw water and minerals from soil through the capillaries or tiny tubes in their stems known as xylem. This is known as capillary ... Rainbow Celery: A Simple & Colorful Science Experiment Food coloring in various colors; Steps to a Rainbow of Learning. Set the Stage: Find a sunny spot in your home where your celery can bask in the sunlight. This will not only help in the experiment but also make for a lovely display. Add Food Coloring: Fill each glass halfway with water and then add a few drops of different food coloring to each ... Celery Science Experiment Red food coloring; Scissors; Celery stalk with leaves; Printable Observation Sheet; What You Do: Fill a tall, clear glass or jar half-full with water. Add a few drops of red food coloring and mix well. Trim the bottom of a large stalk of celery, leaving the leaves on the stalk. Place the celery stalk in the glass or jar. Celery Food Coloring Experiment Follow these directions to perform the experiment and create your own rainbow celery stalks. Fill each of the mason jars with water until it's half full. Add 2 drops of red food coloring into the 1st jar and 2 drops of blue food coloring into the 2nd jar. Similarly, add 2 drops each of the green, pink, purple and orange food coloring into the ... Celery and Food Coloring Experiment 1. Fill a tall, clear glass or jar half-full with water. 2. Add a few drops of red food coloring and mix well. 3. Trim the bottom of a large stalk of celery, leaving the leaves on the stalk. 4. Place the celery stalk in the glass or jar. Leave overnight in order for the stalk to "drink" the water. Colourful Celery Experiment Colourful Celery Experiment: Supplies needed: Instructions: Fill the plastic cups a little more than half full with water. Add some drops of food colouring to each cup (one colour per cup) and stir. Cut the bottom ends off celery stalks. Place one freshly cut celery stalk in each cup. Invite kids to make a hypothesis. PDF Celery Science: A Water Absorption Experiment Stick of celery with leaves Clear container Water Food coloring Science goggles Procedure Fill the container halfway with water Add 20 drops of food coloring to your container Place a clean, trimmed celery stalk into the container. Observe over several hours Drawings and Observations: Your Container Time: Time: PDF Celery Soaks It Up Celebrating Chemistry P celery, use white carnations with 15 cm (6 inch) stems placed in water colored with 20 drops of food coloring. Have participants observe the color of the flowers when the carnations are first placed in the water. Schedule times during the day for the participants to check on the flowers. The flowers will begin to show some of the food coloring ... Science on the Shelves The process is called transpiration and it's essential for moving water to all parts of plants, even to the tops of the tallest trees. The experiment with a stick of celery reveals that this happens through special tubes, called xylems, which take up the food colouring. The process is accelerated by evaporation from the celery leaves and you ... The Color-Changing Celery Experiment! Want to learn how plants move water around inside them? Or do you just want to turn a stalk of celery purple? Then try our amazing color-changing celery expe... Celery Science Experiment Getting the Celery Science Experiment Ready. We headed to the kitchen to gather a few simple supplies: Jars. Water. Food coloring. Freshly cut celery stalks. The kids wanted to dye their water blue and purple so they added about five drops of food coloring to each jar. We dropped one stalk of celery into each jar and then sat back to watch what ... Celery & Food Coloring Experiment This simple experiment with celery and food coloring will thrill kids and teach them science! Ages: 3 - 8. 30 minutes - 1 hour. A little messy. Grownup needed. Celery Lab (Phloem & Xylem) Fill your glass half full with water. Add eight to ten drops of red food coloring to the water in the glass. Use a spoon to stir the water and food coloring. Put the stalk of celery in the glass. The leaves should be at the top! Leave it alone for several hours or even overnight. Come back and look at the celery—cut a cross section and view ... How to Do a Celery Science Experiment Place each child's cup on a 3x5 card with their name on it. Do this for the "control" cup also. Observe the celery the next day. If the celery was in red water the tips of the leaves should be turning red. You can the cut into the celery and see that the veins are filled with red water. PDF Moving Fluids in Plants: Experiments with celery Let the stalk stand in the water for 1 hour. Make a cross sectional cut across the celery approximately 1⁄2 of the way up the stalk. Cut a small section of the stalk and observe under a stereomicroscope. Make a diagram which distinguishes the colored tissues from those without the food coloring. Why are some tissues colored and others not. Celery transpiration : Fizzics Education 3. The celery should be able to lean against the cup without tipping it over. Put the cut end of the stick of celery into the cup of darkly coloured water. 4. Leave the cup and celery for at least half an hour. Check on the leaves regularly to see if there is any discolouration at the ends of the leaves. 5. The celery changes to a shade of blue…. Colorful Celery Celery stalks with leaves. Water. Food coloring. Steps: Fill each glass about halfway with water. Add different colors of food coloring to each glass (these will be the colors that the celery turns into). I used blue and red food coloring, and I combined yellow and red food coloring to make orange. I would not suggest using green or yellow food ... Celery Food Coloring Experiment This simple celery food coloring experiment allows you and your child to learn about capillary action and the circulatory system. Learn more about "Lyla in the Loop," a new animated series full of ... essay homework paper phd project resume review study thesis