Praxis: Getting down and nerdy
By Medicine Hat News on November 24, 2018.
Well, I do not know about you, but I am getting tired of moving that last little bit of Halloween candy around the counter from one side to the other. It is so hard just to dispose of it. I think that everyone has eaten what they want and truly no one knows what to do with the rest. Well, I think have a solution. Let’s do some experimenting. *Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials – package of pop rocks or NERDS candy – 500 mL bottle of cola – balloon – funnel Procedure 1. Place the narrow end of the funnel in the balloon; this will help you pour the candy in. 2. Open either a package of pop rocks or NERDS and pour it into the balloon using the funnel. 3. Open the bottle of cola and set the lid aside. 4. Carefully attach the balloon to the bottle of soda. This is a bit tricky as you do not want to dump the candy into the bottle of cola just yet. Hold on to it tightly as you put the mouth of the balloon on the mouth of the cola bottle. 5. Once secure, lift and shake the contents of the balloon into the bottle of cola. 6. Observe. What is going on? The balloon should have expanded A LOT! The secret is a gas called carbon dioxide. The liquid in the cola dissolved the candy and as a result a gas called carbon dioxide was released. Carbon dioxide is less dense than the cola, so the bubbles rise in the bottle all of the way up and inflating the balloon. You could easily make this into a Science Fair experiment. Do you have different results with different candy? Why? Will the type of beverage make a difference? This is just a start, but I hope that you see you can easily come up with a simple science fair project with a few materials you just have lying around the house! If your school is interested in having a science fair club, make sure they call soon so I can pop by and give you some great pointers! Patty Rooks is senior scientific consultant at 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. 19-18
