Most of us have baking soda, water and white vinegar handy, right? Well, you can use these ingredients for some fun and easy science experiments. One a recent day locked in our home due to a minor thing called the Polar Vortex, my daughter and I worked on a few baking soda experiments. They are all pretty simple yet my daughter was entirely enthralled! Who would think making CO2 could be so fun! I am including all three in this post:
Experiment Number One:
Frothing Fun
For our first experiment, we went with the most basic of baking soda experiments. All you need is baking soda, white vinegar, an empty glass and food coloring if you are in the mood to be fancy! For the experiment, we filled about 1/4 of our glass with white vinegar. Then, we added a drop or two of food coloring to be snazzy! Next, we added about a teaspoon of baking soda. Then----fizz!!!
My daughter enjoyed this but did get pretty ambitious with adding baking soda. Our glass was tall, so we did not have a mess. However, you may want to conduct this experiment on a tray to decrease the likelihood of a big mess!
For a bit about the reaction involved you can check Newton Ask a Scientist! The bubbles are filled with carbon dioxide gas that is created when one of the products made decomposes into water and carbon dioxide. Pretty cool!
Experiment Number Two:
Flame Extinguisher
After my daughter learned about how to create carbon dioxide by combining baking soda with the vinegar, we moved on to an experiment where she could use the gas to put out a flame. For this experiment, all you will need is a candle in a glass, matches, baking soda, vinegar and a glass. For the candle, I would choose one that is in a glass but no too deep inside.