Saturday, September 11, 2010

Properties of Baking Soda

The item we selected for this experiment was baking soda. At first we couldn't come up with ideas because the only time we had ever used it was for baking. However, we finally came up with many creative experiments which probably would never happen in a normal household. We made many observations and tested the item with different typed of materials. Here are our results:


 Physical Properties:
  • the color of the baking soda was white
  • it is a solid
  • it has a powdery texture
  • it has no odor
  • it dissolves in water
 







          original baking soda                                                                           dissolved in water

Chemical Properties:
  •  First, we added 2 teaspoons of baking soda to 1/4 cup of vinegar. The mixture bubbled and rose and slowly, the baking soda dissolved in the vinegar. Then we put the mixture into a pan and heated it. This caused the mixture to immediately bubble.
  •  Next, we heated the baking soda by itself. For some reason we thought that something big would happen, but actually nothing happened. It stayed the same and had no chemical reaction.
  • Third, we mixed 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 1/4 cup of orange juice. I had a feeling that something would happen because orange juice has acid. The mixture started to make bubbles and it turned a light creamy orange color. Then we heated the mixture and it foamed, causing the mixture to rise. It also became a very light and fluffy liquid.




orange juice mixture                                                                                   heating  mixture
  • Then, we added 20 quirts of lysol disinfectant cleanser to a teaspoon of baking soda. It bubbled and foamed, and ti also rose. I turned into a white foamy material. After about 30 seconds, it slowly settled down and became a soapy liquid. 
                                                      lysol mixed with baking soda
  • Next, we added 1/2 cup of vanilla icing to 3 teaspoons of baking soda and heated the mixture. At first, the mixture started to turn into a liquid, but then it started burning. It slowly started to become a thick dark brown paste.
                                                         heating baking soda and icing
  • In addition, we added 2 cups of baking soda to 1/4 cup of vinegar, and we added and egg yolk to the mixture. This experiment scared us a little because it immediately foamed and almost overflowed. The egg slowly sunk to the bottom of the mixture while the foam kept rising. This was by far the best experiment. 
                                                    egg, vinegar, and baking soda mixture

As you can see, we had a very eventful chemistry experiment. It was fun and we understood chemical and physical properties a lot better after seeing some examples of them.

5 comments:

  1. Hey Puja! I think we did pretty awesome! I would just like to say I think both of us could have described why certain things were chemical changes. For example, when we cooked the icing mixture we could have said this is a chemical change because it changes color (or something like that). But AWESOME JOB! good pictures and great descriptions!

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  2. Puja, you and Kellye did a really great job on your blog! :) Your experiments were very creative and I really liked your pictures.

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  3. PUJA! THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME! I loved the introduction to the object. It's pretty funny how you mentioned that the experiment you did would probably never happen. Humor in writing makes it a lot easier for a reader. The unique organztion of your pictures within you text made a great reference tool. It was complex enough to be interesting but simple enough to be understood. A great combination! Next time you might go into specifics about how you knew a chemical reaction had taken place. For example: production of a preciptate, change in color, etc. etc. One thing I particulary liked is how throughly you walked us through the experiments itself. I understood how things happened and why they did because of this. Lastly, I loved how you wrapped up the whole experiment with a couple of concluding sentences. Your blog was one of the few who even did this and it made a nice finishing touch to the project. Awesome job on the content and amazing job on the creative. Plus a very cute blog layout :) Overall, I loved it!

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  4. Puja, Great Job on your experiment. I liked how you were so detailed on your experiment and gave your measurements. I think preciseness in the experiments can give you good outcomes. Your pictures were very effective in explaining your experiment. The one suggestion I would make is that you should write a more elaborate conclusion. The conclusion is good to sum up your whole experiment. Also, in the conclusion you can write any additional information you feel like telling.. Then you could critique yourself and tell what you felt like you could do better the next time around if you were to do the experiment again. This tells the reader you were very observant and realized what you were doing wrong and it could help prospective students to do the lab better if they were to follow what you did. Overall great job I really enjoyed reading your blog.

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  5. Puja! I loved all of the pictures you posted to show what was happening throughout the experiments! My favporite experiment was definetly when you used the egg and the bowl was overflowing with foam; it looks so cool! I also liked the experiment when you heated the baking soda and the icing in the frying pan. It looks pretty gross though! I think your experiments were very creative, but maybe you could have written a little more of a conclusion. It was AWESOME! Great job!!

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