All you need are a few simple supplies to try this chemical reaction experiment that uses baking soda and vinegar to create a truly memorable, WOW experiment for kids!
Materials:
*A clear drinking glass half-filled with water
*About 1 Tbsp baking soda
*Enough vinegar to fill the remainder of the glass
*3 raisins, cut or ripped in half
*A spoon
- First, use your spoon to place about a tablespoon of baking soda into the glass half-filled with water. The exact amount is not important.
- Stir the baking soda until it is dissolved in the water.
- Drop the 6 raisin halves into the glass.
- Next, pour some vinegar into the glass until it is about 3/4 full.
- You may need to jostle the raisins a bit with your spoon to get them going. If this doesn’t work, try adding a little more vinegar. If this still doesn’t work, try cutting the raisins into smaller pieces to make them even lighter.
- Watch in amazement as your raisins slowly rise to the surface, then fall back down, over and over again.
This Dancing Raisins Science Experiment uses the same chemical reaction behind the well-known homemade volcano project and the self-inflating balloon experiment. When vinegar (an acid) reacts with baking soda (a base) one of the products of the chemical reaction is carbon dioxide, a gas. In the volcano, the gas creates a bubbly solution which comes oozing out of the volcano. For the balloon experiment, the gas fills up the balloon. This dancing raisins science experiment has a more subtle effect, but still impressive.
