Acids, Bases and Batteries... oh my!

Science elective students built a battery using galvanized nails, copper wire and vinegar. They tested it with an led, but unfortunately it failed. Science is full of failures! It is how we learn. 

 Safety is first in science elective, so students adorned safety glasses and aprons to protect themselves from any chemical reactions.

 

Say science!

 Students also tore purple cabbage leaves to blend with water to extract the color in the food processor. Then they strained the pulp and poured the juice into test tubes. We expected the juice to be purple, but it was green. Another failure because the color did not change for our experiment. We experimented with acids and bases, which should have changed the color of the liquid. We tested milk, baking soda, baking powder, coffee, lemon juice, orange juice, laundry detergent, dish detergent, and alka seltzer.

Alka seltzer and cabbage juice

Acidity and Sour flavor

 In the Science elective, students brought in sour candy to test for acidity. Each student received one of each type of eleven different kids of sour candy. First they taste tested the sour level and ranked them from most sour to least. Then they made a solution with the candy and added baking soda to see it react with water and candy. They ranked the candies by which ones made the most bubbles or foam. Then they looked in the ingredients to see what chemical was reacting.