3rd Class Miss mangan’s Volcano Science Experiment

To celebrate Science Week we carried out an experiment all about volcanoes. We all know about the famous volcano Mt. Vesuvius in Italy. It erupted in AD 79 covering the city of Pompeii below with volcanic ash and lava. What caused this explosion to happen? We wanted to find out this answer by carrying out our very own experiment in our class.

Volcano Experiment

Question:

Which materials combine to make a chemical reaction? (water, washing up liquid, vinegar or baking soda)

Prediction:

Before conducting any experiment, it is very important to predict what we think may happen?

Here are some of our predictions below?

Materials:

Each table was given out the materials for the experiment. These included;

• 150 ml of water

• 5 ml of water

• 30 ml of vinegar

• 43 g of baking soda

• A few drops of food colouring (red)

Maths Link:

Measures: The boys used a measuring jug, a cup, measuring spoons and a dropper to weigh out all the different materials.

Method:

Next we discussed how to carry out our experiment step by step.

Step 1: Put the bigger plastic cup into the middle of the container.

Step 2: Combine the water and washing up liquid together using the spoon.

Step 3: Add in the vinegar.

Step 4: Using the dropper, add in a few drops of red food colouring.

Step 5: Mix with a spoon.

Step 6: Add in the baking soda.

The Results:

A chemical reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda creates a gas called carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the same gas used to make the bubbles (carbonation) in fizzy drinks. The gas gets very excited and tried to spread out. There is not enough room in the cup for the gas to spread out so it leaves through the opening very quickly, causing an eruption!