Experiments

Cooking with Chemistry

Cate Edwards

Feb 09 |16:22
Here's what you'll need...
  • 2 bowls
  • Oven
  • 2 spatulas
  • Cupcake liners
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • ½ shortening
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ shortening
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

Baking and cooking happen to be one of the most common types of chemistry! There are many important chemical changes that happen when we bake and cook. Let’s say we were to mix up some cake batter and we baked the cake. Then I realized that I wanted to take back the eggs I’d given you. Could I cut the cake and pull out a couple eggs? NO, that is silly! We mixed our ingredients, many chemical reactions happened and we made something new and different.

In this experiment, we will test the chemical reaction that happens when baking soda is included and left out of a cupcake recipe. We will bake a control batch of cupcakes (mixture with baking soda) and a variable batch (without baking soda).

After gathering all of your supplies mix all but the baking soda. I recommend mixing the flour, sugar and salt first then folding in the dry ingredients. Once everything is well mixed and free of lumps pour half of the mixture in a second bowl. Then add the baking soda into one of the bowls and mix.

Read more: Cooking with Chemistry

 

Floating Balloon

Here's what you'll need...
  • air dryer or fan
  • balloon
  • ping pong ball (optional for use with hair dryer)

First, blow up your balloon and tie it off. Then position the hair dryer or fan so that it is pointing straight up. Turn it on and place the balloon above it and watch what happens. Don’t worry about adjusting the hair dryer or fan, in fact keep it as still as possible.

Now that the balloon is floating in mid air try tilting the hair dryer or fan very slowly and see if you can keep the balloon suspended in the air at an angle.

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Straw Pan Pipes

Here's what you'll need...
  • 8 straight straws
  • Ruler (with metric)
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Pen

One of the most fun places to find science is in music! With eight straws and a few other materials, you can make an octave of pan pipes to start playing music on. Straight straws are the easiest to work with. The exact width doesn’t matter, although I’ve heard that wider straws are easier to make music notes on. To start, use a ruler to measure and cut the straws to these lengths:

  • #1: 19.5 cm (many straws are this length to start with, so no cutting is necessary)
  • #2: 17.0 cm
  • #3: 15.5 cm
  • #4: 14.5 cm
  • #5: 13.0 cm
  • #6: 11.5 cm
  • #7: 10.0 cm
  • #8: 9.5 cm
    • Save the ends you snip off, as these will be used for spacers.

    Read more: Straw Pan Pipes

       

    A Lung Model

    Here's what you'll need...
    • 9 oz. clear plastic cup
    • Straw
    • Small balloon
    • Pencil
    • Regular party balloon
    • Scissors
    • Tape (masking tape or electrical tape work best))

    When you take a deep breath your lungs fill with air and the muscle in front of your lungs, the diaphragm, also expand. This activity is a fun and simple representation of a lung.

    Once you have assembled all of your supplies, tape the small balloon to one end of the straw. Tape just the neck of the balloon to the straw, leaving the more circular part of the balloon loose.

    Make a hole in the bottom of the cup. The hole needs to be big enough to fit a straw through, but small enough that the straw will not slip out. You might want an adult to help make the hole. (With thicker plastic cups I have to use very pointy scissors or a knife.) Then slip the other end of the straw through the hole in the clear plastic cup.

    Read more: A Lung Model

       

    Do Not Open Bottle

    Here's what you'll need...
    • push pin
    • disposable plastic water bottle
    • water

    All you have to do is poke holes in a plastic bottle, fill it up with water and close the cap. The tricky part is doing this with out getting yourself wet. You can either fill the bottle up with water before you poke the holes, or poke the holes in the bottle, place tape over teh holes and then fill the bottle up. Either way it will work, but be prepared for a little bit of leakage here and there.

    Read more: Do Not Open Bottle

       

    Electric Motor

    Here's what you'll need...
    • Coated magnet wire (2 meters)
    • Insulated electrical wire (20 cm)
    • Ceramic magnet
    • D battery
    • Foam core/cork board base
    • 4 thumbtacks
    • Wire cutters
    • Sandpaper

    Making an electric motor is a great way to illustrate the transfer of energy, and can make a great (if at times finicky) science project. There are many variations on this, so feel free to experiment on lengths, measurements, and supplies.

    Your base just needs to be something that you can poke thumbtacks into without them poking through the bottom. Thick Styrofoam would work, but we used foam core and cork board, because we have more of that. Our base was about 12x15 cm (5x7 in), with a 10x17cm piece of cork board covering the area with the thumbtacks.

    To make the motor holders, use a disposable cookie sheet or pie tin. Cut out two rectangles, about 2x5 cm (1x2 in). For each, fold the bottom centimeter (half inch) at a right angle, making two L shapes. Use one of the thumbtacks to poke a hole in each, about a half-centimeter (quarter-inch) from the top. While the exact measurements don’t matter, it is important that both holes are at the same height, so that the motor will be well-balanced.

    Read more: Electric Motor

       

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