"Science is a way of investigating, understanding and explaining our natural world, physical world and wider universe" (NZ Curriculum).

Students need to lean what science is and how scientists work as well as scientific knowledge.

Science programmes at Eastern Hutt aim to provide hands on investigations that will develop students' curiosity of the world around us and an interest in science.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Hot and Cold Reactions

This activity is an old favourite and always works well so today I tried it again with a new group of Science Club kids.

Here are the instructions:


 The students observed what was happening and wrote the following notes:
  • There was a chemical reaction between the ingredients.
  • The plastic bag puffed up so a gas must of been produced.
  • The mixture fizzed and bubbled which also shows a gas must of been produced.
  • The first mixture went really cold.  This is an endothermic reaction.
  • The second mixture went really hot.  This is an exothermic reaction.
  • Reaction 1 - we mixed a base (baking soda) with and acid (tartaric acid) so the reaction produced carbon dioxide.
  • Reaction 2 - we mixed 2 bases so why did it fizz and bubble and produce gas???
  • The water helped to mix the 2 powders together.
  • Some of the bags popped when they filled with too much gas.
Carefully lowering in the water.
The mixture fizzes and puffs up the bag.
Watch out - It's going to explode!



No comments:

Post a Comment