I Have Gas!
Concept: We are going to complete two activities. The first is called Sewer Maggots and the other is called The Belch Model. Each one of these focuses on a gas.
Science Objectives and Facts: Carbon dioxide is a gas that is found in many places. It is used for adding the fizz to soft drinks and it is often the product of a chemical reaction. The stomach contains a type of acid that can produce a gas when certain foods are eaten. This gas is what makes us burp.
Materials:
- 9oz cups
- Raisins
- 1 or 2 liters of Mt. Dew (depending on the amount of kids you are working with)
- 2 balloons per child
- Newspaper sheet
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- 1 eye dropper per child
- 1 ice cream sample spoon
- 9 oz cups to hold baking soda and vinegar
How to do it:
Activity #1: SEWER MAGGOTS
You can tell child that we are pretending that we are taking a sample of water from the sewer system. In the water are maggots which are larvae of insects. You should get lots of Yucks at this point.
- Give each child a 9oz cup and fill it ¾ with Mt. Dew. We use Mt. Dew because there seems to be more carbonation.
- Give each student about ten raisins and let them put the raisins in the Mt. Dew, one at a time.
- Allow them to observe what happens. Ask them to describe the motion of their “maggots”. What is causing the “maggots” to float to the top of the cup and then fall down to bottom again?
- Ask them if they know what the word buoyancy means. Explain that bubbles are attaching themselves to the raisins and causing the raisins to float.
Ask them can they thing of something that uses air to float in water.(a submarine).
Activity #2: The Belch Model
For this activitystudents will be creating a model of the stomach and simulating when a person has gas and has to burp.
Place cups of vinegar and baking soda close to your kids.
Each child gets a eye dropper to dispense the vinegar and a sample spoon (from Baskin Robbins) to dispense the baking soda.
Using their eye dropper they will dispense a small amount of vinegar into the bottom of the balloon. Next they will use their spoon to put a spoon or two of baking soda into their “stomach” (the balloon).
Tell them to quickly pinch the balloon to trap the gas. Ask: What is blowing up the balloon? If they don’t guess, tell them it is CO2. Ask: where else do we use CO2?
Allow them to release the top of the balloon so it can “burp”. See if they can cause their “stomach’s to burp.
- Extensions:
- Allow your kids to experiment with the amount of baking soda and vinegar they use. Ask them if they can create different types of sounds with their “stomachs”
Cautions:
Tell students to be careful with the vinegar. Make sure they are using their goggles on if available. If it does splash in their eyes, rinse immediately with water.