This week in science we learned about gases. The experiment at the end of the lesson was combining a liquid (vinegar) and a solid (baking soda) to make a gas (carbon dioxide). Mrs. Watson took us out to her front yard to do two different demonstrations.
If you want to try this at home, here are the things we used today:
In the first experiment, vinegar and baking soda were combined to blow up a balloon. The students wanted to see a big reaction and thought it was a good idea to add extra baking soda to the balloon and extra vinegar in the bottle! The vinegar goes in the bottle and the baking soda goes in the balloon. You can use a funnel to add the baking soda to the balloon. Then you carefully put the balloon on the bottle and dump in the baking soda. Mrs. Watson didn’t get a picture of this.
For the second experiment, dish soap was added to the vinegar before adding in the baking soda. Look what happened!
You can try this at home. Experiment with adding different quantities of baking soda, vinegar and dish soap. See what happens and post pictures to FreshGrade!
Hello Mrs. Watson and K/1/2/3.
What a wonderful experiment. While I taught primary school in Australia including classes in K, 1,2, and 3, my degree was in science. I ran a science club at one time and one of my favourite experiments was like yours. It can be amazing the pressure gases can build up considering they often can’t be seen. With your experiment, you were able to see the gases build and and cause the liquid to overflow. Well done!
Ross Mannell (Retired teacher, NSW, Australia.)
Hello Mr. Mannell,
It is great to hear from you. We have not been blogging as much the last few years, but I remember all the commenting you did with my classes and the great information you shared. I still have the Australian animal cards you sent to the class. We hope that you are keeping well. Our schools are about to reopen June 1, but our families have decided to continue with online learning until the end of the school year on June 25.
Thanks for your comment,
Mrs. Watson