Materials:
- Crushed or cubed pieces of ice in a bowl
- Vinegar
- Food coloring
- Medicine dropper
- Baking soda
Activity:
- Mix vinegar and food coloring to make colored vinegar. Put this in little cups.
- Next, fill up a bowl with crushed or cubed ice and build mounds of ice.
- Add some baking soda on each mound and then put more ice on top.
- Use your medicine dropper to drop colored vinegar onto your ice mounds.
- Watch closely and describe what you see!
Questions to Ask:
- What do you notice as you drop the vinegar on the ice?
- What do you think is happening to the ice?
- What do you hear? Does it sound fizzy?
- Does that sound remind you of anything?
- Would the same thing happen with plain ice from the freezer?
Science Behind Activity:
The chemical reaction that occurs between baking soda and vinegar produces a gas called carbon dioxide. This happens when a base (baking soda) and an acid (vinegar) mix. This reaction causes bubbling and fizzing that you can observe, hear, see, smell and touch!
