Acidic Solutions and Blowing Balloons
6th Graders: Today was the second Chemical Reactions lesson where we went more in depth of how to classify chemicals as either acids or bases. After learning how to identify chemicals by their pH levels, we dived straight into identifying mystery liquids based on their acidity. The students used litmus paper to aid them in identifying a liquid as either acidic or basic.
In the next experiment, the students further grasped other differences between acids and bases by observing the effect of different liquids on dull pennies. Not only were they able to make some pennies cleaner, but were also able to understand why the results turned out the way they did.
The next experiment dealt with a common chemical reaction: baking soda and vinegar! The students conducted the balloon experiment in order to understand what were the reactants and products of this reaction.
Finally, the students put together all they had learned by making play-dough for their take-home activity!