Science Smarts: Snow volcanos. Enough said.

By Patty Rooks on December 21, 2024.

Oh my, what a dump of snow I received today! There are a few centimetres of beautiful snow for sure. It is beautiful outside. When it warms up a few degrees, I am going to get outside and make use of the mounds of snow I have been shovelling today. Do not delay, as you never know how long the snow will last around here.

Get ready as we will make some pretty amazing snow volcanoes with that new snow.

Let’s get started!

Materials

– Snow

– Dish soap

– Baking soda

– Warm water

– Food colouring

– Vinegar

– Measuring spoons

– Measuring cups

– Plastic cup to put in the volcano outside

– Clothes for the outdoors

Procedure

1. Measure 30mL (2 tablespoons) of dish soap and pour into the cup you are taking outside.

2. Add 125 mL (1/2 cup) baking soda, a few drops of food colouring and 20mL (two tablespoons of warm water.

3. Take your cup and the container of vinegar to the porch and get dressed to go outside.

4. Once outside, it is time to build your volcano with snow. Use your imagination BUT you will need an opening in the top for the cup to sit in.

5. Pour a bit of vinegar into the cup once the volcano is ready.

6. HURRY step back.

7. Observe!

What is going on?

In this experiment, you did not have a real volcano. If you did, molten lava would be coming out! Instead, you created a chemical reaction. When you mix a base sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) with vinegar (acetic acid) a chemical reaction occurs. As a result, carbon dioxide bubbles form, expand, and force your “lava” out of the snow volcano!

Patty Rooks, senior scientific consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community.” Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: 12 826 11th Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca.

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