Your students will be excited by baking soda experiments.
Sodium bicarbonate, also referred to as baking soda, is a common alkaline compound that produces an exciting but harmless chemical reaction when you combine it with a weak household acid like vinegar. If you are teaching elementary-aged students about chemical reactions, there are several fun experiments you can use to demonstrate how sodium bicarbonate reacts with acid.
Sodium Bicarbonate Volcano
A sodium bicarbonate volcano is a good way to teach students about geology and plate tectonics. You can make a baking soda volcano by placing roughly 2 pounds of air-drying clay into a glass baking dish and forming it into a mound. Use a glass or fingers to press a well down into the center of the mound, and allow the clay to dry.
Place a funnel into the center of the mound, and pour 1 cup of baking soda into the volcano. Mix half a cup of white vinegar and 5 drops of red food coloring in a bowl. Pour the contents of the bowl into the funnel, and watch the volcano erupt.
Sodium Bicarbonate Balloon
Inflating a sodium bicarbonate balloon provides an illustration of chemical reactions, gases and states of matter.
Place a funnel into the mouth of an empty plastic water bottle, and pour in half a cup of lemon juice.
Wrap a quarter of a cup of baking soda in a piece or two of toilet paper, and insert it into the water bottle. Stretch the mouth of a balloon quickly over the top of the bottle. The balloon will fill up with the carbon dioxide gas that results from the chemical reaction.
Sodium Bicarbonate Rocket
You can create a baking soda rocket by filling an empty plastic bottle halfway with lemon juice. Wrap half a cup of baking soda in toilet paper, and push it into the bottle. Quickly push a cork into the top of the bottle. Once the baking soda reacts with the lemon juice, the cork will shoot off like a rocket.
Tags: baking soda, lemon juice, Sodium Bicarbonate, center mound, chemical reaction, chemical reactions
