Week 1: Foaming, Fizzing and Oozing (Click here to download the supplies and activities list) Main source: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/ Will it foam, will it fizz, will it ooz, or will it BLOW????
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2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Materials you will need:
- Tall clear glass
- Raisins (cut in half)
- Fresh club soda
Experiment:
- Pour club soda in the glass
- Drop in one half of a raisin
- Observe for a few minutes
How does it work?
Raisins
are denser than the liquid in the soda, so initially they sink to the
bottom of the glass. The carbonated soft drink releases carbon dioxide
bubbles. When these bubbles stick to the rough surface of a raisin, the
raisin is lifted because of the increase in buoyancy. When the raisin
reaches the surface, the bubbles pop, and the carbon dioxide gas
escapes into the air. This causes the raisin to lose buoyancy and sink.
This rising and sinking of the raisins continues until most of the
carbon dioxide has escaped, and the soda goes flat. Furthermore, with
time the raisin gets soggy and becomes too heavy to rise to the surface.
3. Baking Soda Raisin Dancing
Materials you will need:
- Tall clear glass (big enough to hold 2 cups liquid)
- Raisins
- Water
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
Experiment:
- Pour 1 cup water in the glass.
- Add one heaping teaspoon of baking soda.
- Add five raisins.
- Slowly add 1 cup of vinegar.
- Observe.
How does it work?
Another way to do the previous experiment is to generate the carbon dioxide gas using the reaction of baking soda and vinegar. The vinegar and baking soda react to form carbon dioxide bubbles, and the raisins will dance just as in the club soda!
4. Make your own Lava lamp
Materials:
- One clean, plastic soda bottle (16 oz. size works well)
- Soda bottle cap
- Vegetable oil (the cheaper the better)
- Food coloring
- An Alka-Seltzer tablet – divided into 8 pieces
- Water
Experiments:
- Fill the bottle 3/4 full with vegetable oil.
- Fill the rest of the bottle with water (almost to the top but not overflowing).
- Add about 10 drops of food coloring. Be sure to make the water fairly dark in color. Notice that the food coloring only colors the water and not the oil. Hmmm?
- Drop one of the tiny pieces of Alka-Seltzer into the oil and water mixture. Watch what happens. When the bubbling stops, add another chunk of Alka-Seltzer. It’s just like a lava lamp!
- When you have used up all of the Alka-Seltzer and the bubbling has completely stopped, screw on the soda bottle cap. Tip the bottle back and forth and watch the wave appear. The tiny droplets of liquid join together to make one big lava-like blob.
5. Lemon Twist
Materials you will need:
- Plastic 8 oz. cup
- Baking soda
- Liquid soap
- Half a lemon
- Measuring spoon
- Straw
Experiment:
- Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda into the empty cup.
- Add a big squirt (2 teaspoons) of liquid soap to the cup.
- Use straw to mix the ingredients.
- Then squeeze half the lemon into it – try to get as much juice out of it as you can.
Doesn’t your concoction look yummy? Actually, do not drink it – too soapy! But you can use it to wash your hands!