The Volcano Experiment: A Simple Acid - Base Reaction
The volcano experiment is an extremely simple and safe project that kids of all ages love doing. The materials are available in any supermarket and from around the home. It is a simple acid-base neutralization reaction that can produce an impressive visual display. Materials Needed: You will need the following: For the volcano: * some old newspapers For the reaction: * red food dye Procedure: Constructing The Volcano There are many possible approaches to the construction that work just as well as the one described here. This construction requires flour and water to be mixed together in a large bowl in order to form a thick liquid. This makes an excellent glue and when it dries it is both sturdy and relatively waterproof. The more glue you use at each stage the longer the volcano will take to dry, but the stronger it will be. Step 1: Scrunch up balls of newspaper and wet the outside of them slightly with the flour glue. Step 2: Mound up the paper balls and set the cup in the middle of the top of the mound. This is the most difficult part of the construction as the paper balls need to be wet enough to hold together but not so wet that they fall apart.
Step 3: Tear up some newspaper into roughly hand-sized pieces. Dip these in the flour glue and start moulding a skin over the paper balls. Use smaller paper balls to fill in any gaps or contour the landscape of the volcano. Step 4: Keep adding newspaper pieces until the skin is thick enough and the whole structure is firmly attached to the base board. Then place it in a warm, sunny location to dry, which may take several days.
Step 5: To complete preparations for the volcano experiment, the base and mound of the now-dry structure can be painted. Smaller decorations like tiny trees and small houses are also fun to add. Once the paint has dried, the volcano is ready for action.
The Reaction The basics of the experiment are pouring a good quantity of baking soda into the cup, adding a few drops of food colouring and then tipping in the vinegar. The size of the cup will determine the best amount of each ingredient to be added. Working out the correct proportions will give your child much pleasure. The frothing red "lava" comes from the reaction: Baking soda (base) + vinegar (acetic acid) ==> Carbon dioxide + water + sodium acetate In chemical terms, this is written as follows: NaHCO3 + CH3COOH ==> CO2 (gas) + H2O (liquid) + CH3COONa.
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