Chemical Reaction Activity - 5th grade and up

SILENT SCIENCE (students do the activity in COMPLETE silence)

Objective : Students will observe two different types of chemical reactions.

Materials: powders liquids equipment

talc water dropper baking powder vinegar plate baking soda iodine popsicle sticks cornstarch chalk

Procedure:

You will work in a group of 3 or 4 and visit 5 stations. You will complete the same procedure at each station, just with different powders.

At each station you will:

1. First, you will scoop a small amount of the provided powder onto the plate (which is separated into 3 sections). Put a small scoop of powder in each section using a popsicle stick. Only a very small amount of the powder will be needed.

2. Then, you will place one drop of water onto one of the piles of powder, using a dropper, and look for a reaction and record observations.

3. Next, you will place one drop of vinegar onto a fresh pile of powder and look for a reaction and record observations.

4. Last, you will place one drop of iodine onto the last pile of powder and look for a reaction and record observations.

Repeat these procedures at each of the 5 stations.

Hypothesis: Predict if each combination will have a chemical reaction. If you think you will be able to see a chemical reaction, check the box.

Talc + water

Talc + vinegar

Talc + iodine

Baking soda + water

Baking soda + vinegar

Baking soda + iodine

Baking powder + water

Baking powder+ vinegar

Baking powder+ iodine

cornstarch + water

cornstarch + vinegar

cornstarch + iodine

chalk + water

chalk + vinegar

chalk + iodine

Name _________________________________ Date: ____________

Observations: Write a word or two in the boxes to describe what happens when you combine the liquid and powder. If nothing happens, leave the box blank.

Talc + water

Talc + vinegar

Talc + iodine

Baking soda + water

Baking soda + vinegar

Baking soda + iodine

Baking powder + water

Baking powder+ vinegar

Baking powder+ iodine

cornstarch + water

cornstarch + vinegar

cornstarch + iodine

chalk + water

chalk + vinegar

chalk + iodine

Conclusions:

1. Vinegar is in a group of substances known as acids . Acids are known to react chemically with another group of substances called bases . Out of the items you tested today, which ones do you think might be bases? (Hint: Look at your observation chart!).

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2. Baking powder is not a pure substance. It happens to be a mixture of two of the other items you tested today. Can you guess which two other powders are combined to make baking powder?

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3. What different kinds of evidence did you see here today that let you know a chemical reaction took place (you should have seen two different types of reactions) ___________________________________________________

4. Let’s say you had an unknown powder and you wanted to know if it was a base . What could you do to test if it was a base or not? Describe your experiment.

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