Gummy Bear Osmosis:
What you need:
Gummy bears
A glass container for each liquid/solution
One tbsp salt
One tbsp sugar
One tbsp baking soda
Paper towels
How-to:
1) Label each glass with its contents
2) Fill the glass labeled "water" with 1/2 cup plain water
3) Fill the glass labeled "salt water" with 1/2 cup water and thoroughly mix in 1 tbsp salt (make sure salt is completely dissolved)
4) Fill the glass labeled "sugar water" with 1/2 cup water and thoroughly mix in 1 tbsp sugar (make sure sugar is dissolved)
5) Fill glass labeled "baking soda water" with 1/2 cup water and thoroughly mix in 1 tbsp baking soda
6) Add a gummy bear to each glass
7) Wait 12 hours
8) Remove the gummy bears from their glasses and observe how the size of the bears changed in each solution
9) Put the gummy bears back in their solutions and observe after 24 hours and 48 hours
Why does this happen? Since gummy bears do not contain water, when they are put in water, osmosis occurs. Osmosis is the process in which water moves from an area of greater concentration to an area of lower concentration (from a container of water to a gummy bear). As time goes on, the gelatin in the gummy bear makes the gummy bear act like a sponge, absorbing water.
Apple Oxidation: Learn more about oxidation here!!!
What you need:
Plain water
Salt water (1/8 tsp salt, 1 cup water)
Sugar water (1 tbsp sugar, 1 cup water)
Honey water (1 tbsp honey, 1 cup water)
Pure lemon juice
Lemonade
Apple juice
Orange juice
How-to:
1) Write down or think/talk about predictions about how each liquid will affect the oxidation process of the apple
2) Prepare and pour each liquid into its own cup or bowl -- BE SURE TO LABEL THE LIQUIDS
3) slice an apple into small pieces
4) Immediately place once piece of apple into each liquid. Make sure the liquid is completely covering the white part of the apple. Leave one piece of apple out of a liquid as the control sample.
5) After 3, 6, and 10 minutes remove the apples from the liquids and place them on a plate. Record or talk about your observations and compare them to your original predictions!
Flying Tea Bag Experiment:
What you need:
Single serving tea bags
Matches
A small bowl
A solid stone or metal surface
How-to:
1) Conduct this experiment on a solid stone or metal surface. Make sure that you have enough space for the tea bag to float up and extinguish itself!!!
2) Open the tea bags and carefully unfold them
3) Empty out the tea leaves and save them to use if you'd like
4) Hollow out the center of the tea bags with your fingers and stand them up on the solid surface
5) With a match, quickly light the top tip of the tea bag
6) Watch as the tea bag burns to the bottom and then quickly floats up to the sky!!
Why does this happen? As the flame burns, it heats the air inside the tea bag. As the air gets hotter, it becomes less dense. The less dense warmer air rises above the more dense, cooler air around the tea bag. Since the tea bag is so light, is rises with the warmer air inside of it and appears to fly!
Skittles Rainbow:
What you need:
A bag of skittles
A plate
Warm water
How-to:
1) Arrange the skittles in a circle on the outer curve of the plate
2) Carefully pour warm water into the middle of the plate so that skittles are half-submerged
3) Watch as the color of the skittles slowly starts to creep towards the middle of the plate!
Why does this happen? The warm water dissolves the dye and sugar from the skittles and moves them towards where there is less dye and sugar (the middle of the plate). This is called diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration (the outer curve of the plate to the middle of the plate).
Elephant Toothpaste:
What you need:
Empty 16 oz plastic soda bottle
½ Cut 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid (6% solution)
1 tbsp dry yeast
3 tbsp warm water
Liquid dish soap
Food coloring
Small cup
SAFETY GOGGLES
Funnel (optional but it really helps!!)
The foam will overflow, so do the experiment in a tray!!!
How-to:
1) Adult should pour hydrogen peroxide into the bottle
2) Add 8 drops of food coloring
3) Add about 1 tbsp of dish soap into bottle and swish bottle around to mix it
4) In the separate small cup, combine the warm water and the yeast together and mix it for about 30 seconds
5) Pour the yeast/water mixture into the bottle (funnel would be helpful here)
Why does this happen? The yeast acts as a catalyst (a helper) to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. Since it does this very fast, it creates lots and lots of bubbles. The experiment creates a reaction called an exothermic reaction, which means it not only creates foam, it creates heat!