Science
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It's a Gas
This is an experiment to demonstrate air power.
Te Whāriki curriculum link
Exploration goal 4:
Children experience an environment where they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical, and material worlds
You will need:
- A large plastic soft-drink bottle
- A balloon
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ cup of vinegar mixed with ½ cup of water
What to do (let your child do as much as possible)
- Pour the vinegar water into the bottle
- Put the baking soda into the balloon, using a funnel or paper cone
- Stretch the neck of the balloon well over the neck of the bottle, being careful not to let the soda drop into the vinegar
- Ask what your child thinks will happen when the two things are mixed
- Check it out by letting the soda fall from the balloon into the bottle, and swirling the bottle to mix them
What happened?
- What did your child discover? Encourage explanations, theories, further questions
- Tell us about it! Do write down exactly what your child said about what happened and why
Extensions
- Talk about gases - in fizzy drinks, in the air, from car exhausts, chimneys, and so on. We can't see them but we know they're
- there - how? Listen to your child's ideas
- Talk about how baking soda is used in cooking
- Make hokey-pokey!