Rubbing alcohol has a cooling effect, bringing down the temperature of a warm item that it has contact with. Students can explore this property with a simple temperature-taking experiment. Pick two of the same objects -- such as two foil balls -- and place them in the sun. After the items warm, take the temperatures and write them down. Wet two clothes, one with water and the other with rubbing alcohol. Ask the student to hypothesize what will happen when the clothes are placed on the heated items. Cover the items with the cloths. Every few minutes take the items' temperatures to check which one -- the water or the alcohol -- is cooling the objects faster.
Just because rubbing alcohol looks like water doesn't mean it acts like it. Discover the density of alcohol with a simple comparison experiment. Have your student pour a glass container or measuring cup half full with water. Fill an identical glass to the same level, this time using rubbing alcohol. Fill the rest of the glass of water with vegetable or olive oil. The oil will float on the water. Have the student predict what will happen in the rubbing alcohol cup, and then observe the results. The alcohol will float on the oil as it is less dense.
Students can explore and experiment with evaporation, pitting rubbing alcohol against other liquids. Pour a thin layer of rubbing alcohol into a shallow dish or bowl. repeat this step with water, juice and soda. Put the liquids in a room with a constant temperature, and check back to observe what is happening. Have the student create a chart that lists the times and which substance is in first, second, third and fourth place when it comes to evaporation.
Test how rubbing alcohol can make germs disappear. Tale a look at a bottle of hand sanitizer, noting that the main ingredient is alcohol. Ask your student why alcohol is in this product and what it may do. Discuss the cleansing properties that it has and create an exploration using a glowing germ gel. Coat your student's hands -- before washing them -- with the germ gel and expose it to a black light in a dark room. Notice the germs. Ask your student to use the alcohol-based hand sanitizer and repeat the gel step to compare the difference.