Amazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects: You Can Build Yourself

Nomad Press

A division of Nomad Communications

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Copyright © 2008 by Nomad Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. The trademark Nomad Press and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc. Printed in the United States.

ISBN: 978-0-9792268-2-3

Illustrations by Blair Shedd; image on page 19 courtesy of M.A. Quilliam, National Research Council Canada

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To Bob and Audrey, amazing parents, who gave me my first chemistry set and my first love of science.

Acknowledgments

I am greatly indebted to many people for ideas, reviews, interviews, insight, corrections, encouragement, endorsements, you name it. Any errors are all mine, but there are far fewer thanks to the following people: Dr. Stephen Bates, Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Dr. Michael Quilliam, Research Scientist, Institute for Marine Biosciences, Canada; Dr. Irwin Rose, Professor-in-Residence, University of California Irvine and 2004 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry; Dr. John Mainstone, Professor of Physics, University of Queensland; Dr. Anne Hall, Research Scientist at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and former high school chemistry teacher; Dr. Roald Hoffmann, Professor of Chemistry, Cornell University and 1981 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry; Dr. Peter Agre, Vice Chancellor for Science and Technology, Duke University and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry; Dr. Robert Deegan, Research Scientist, University of Bristol, U.K.; Dr. Andrea Hoyt Haight, Research Scientist, Adherent Technologies; science teachers Mike Young, Kevin McCann, Jonathan Ptachcinski, and Robin Patrick; and colleague Greg McCall and Carlie McGinty. To my critique group—Andrea, Carol, Coleen, Dave, Julie, Judy, Kitty, Marcy, Pat, and Susan—thanks for all of the questions and tweaks. Thanks to my younger friends, who concocted all manner of things—Alex, Ava, Grace, Katie, Megan, Michael, Morrin, Nick, Skip, and Susan. To the whole staff of Nomad Press and my agent, Caryn Wiseman, thanks for your hard work and patience. And finally, to my husband Phil, thanks for putting up with a disastrous kitchen and always supporting me.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

CHAPTER 1

ATOMS & MOLECULES: DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

CHAPTER 2

MIX IT UP WITH MIXTURES

CHAPTER 3

REACTIONS: PRESTO-CHANC-O!

CHAPTER 4

ACIDS & BASES

CHAPTER 5

SOLIDS:

THEY’RE REALLY NOT THAT HARD

CHAPTER 6

LIQUIDS- GO WITH THE FLOW!

CHAPTER 7

GASES: IT’S SOMETHINC IN THE AIR

CHAPTER 8

A CHANCE OF STATE

CHAPTER 9

POLY-WHATS-ITS?

CHAPTER 10

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

GLOSSARY

RESOURCES

index

Other titles from Nomad Press

Chemistry is at the heart of how everything works; it’s the science of change. What makes something soft or hard, or a solid, liquid, or gas? Chemistry tells you. It also looks at what makes something explode or freeze, sizzle and pop, or not change at all, because it’s about how those substances interact and change.

Introduction

How to Use This Book

You can experiment with materials in your own kitchen to discover and learn the answers to these questions. You’ll make goop, cause chemical reactions, and create yummy treats, and each project will illustrate an important chemical concept. You can go through the chapters in order or just dive into a particularly interesting project and see where it leads. All of the materials you will use can be found in your own kitchen or at a local grocery store, drugstore, or hardware store. You can do most of the projects with little help from an adult.

A Roman philosopher named Seneca once wrote, Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Although he lived about 2,000 years ago, what he said then is still true.

This could be your lucky day. You can make new discoveries, create a tasty treat, or devise a new magic trick. But you have to be prepared. You have to have the right materials, the right setup, and, most of all, the right attitude. With these three things you’ll learn as much as you can, as safely as you can, and with as much fun as possible.

The Mind of a Scientist

Scientists have a special way of looking at looking at the world, and you can too. Here’s what you do.

Notice things. Pay attention! Look around you! If Benjamin Franklin hadn’t noticed how the water changed behind ships as they sailed, he wouldn’t have experimented with oil and water. If you notice what’s going on around you, you’ll see all kinds of things to investigate and explore.

Investigate! If you see something you don’t understand or that doesn’t make sense, find out more about it. That may involve some research in a library, but it might also involve trying an experiment, which is another important—and even more fun—way to investigate. Ask questions, like Why? and What would happen if …?

After you try an experiment or a project in this book, you can also change the experiment a bit to see what happens. (If you want to use new materials, though, check with an adult first to make sure the experiment will be safe.)

WORDS TO KNOW

chemistry: the study of the properties of substances and how they react with one another.

substance: physical material from which something is made.

chemical reaction: the rearragement of atoms in a substance to make a new chemical substance.

ENGLISH? METRIC?

You may notice that throughout the book, when a quantity of something is given, there is another number and unit in parentheses. For example: one inch (2.5 centimeters). The first number and unit is using the English system of measurement, and the number and unit in parentheses is using the metric system, which is the measuring system used by scientists throughout the world, including scientists in the United States. Most of the world uses the metric system for everything, but in the United States, most things are measured using the English system. More and more, people use the metric system in the United States—every hear of a 2-liter soda bottle? Or megabytes of memory for a computer? That’s metric! But, especially in the kitchen, the English system is still used a lot, such as tablespoons and cups. So we give both measurements! What are the advantages of using the metric system? It’s based on a decimal system, that is, powers of ten. So it’s much easier to multiply and divide the numbers. Because it’s used throughout the world, it’s also easier to be able to communicate with others. That’s especially important for scientists, because the scientific community is really a worldwide community—when a scientist does an experiment, the results are shared with scientists everywhere, who can then build on that work with more experiments.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

Some materials are specific to one or just a few experiments, but some things are used over and over. You may decide to keep a special corner or box as your science lab, so your basic tools and materials are right at hand. Here are some standard tools:

notebook and pencil

candy thermometer

weather thermometer

plastic and glass bottles and jars

paper towels and soap

measuring cups/spoons

safety goggles

paper and scissors

Here’s the important thing about making changes in a project: only make one change at a time. Otherwise, you won’t know which of your changes made a difference in the results.

Believe what you see, not what you think you Should see. If Erasto Mpemba hadn’t believed his own eyes, he never would have figured out that boiling water can freeze faster than warm water. When you try an experiment or make a change to one you’ve already done, try to predict what might happen next. Even if your results aren’t what you expected, you can learn something. If something doesn’t work the way you expected, maybe you made a mistake. For example, you might have put in too much of one ingredient. But maybe your results show you something new. Scientists make new discoveries all the time based on mistakes.

Share and compare. Scientists often work together to solve problems. If Harry Kroto, Rick Smalley, and Bob Curl hadn’t worked together as a team, they probably wouldn’t have discovered the buckyball or won the Nobel Prize. Keep track of your results and share them with others. Maybe together you can figure out why your project or experiment turned out like it did.

Did You Know?

In 1999, the unmanned Mars Climate Orbiter was lost because two different measuring systems were used in its engineering. The engineering team that programmed the software sending information to the Orbiter used the English system, but the team that programmed the Orbiter to receive the information used the metric system. Because of the mismatch in units, the Orbiter entered Mars’ orbit too low, and vanished. The Orbiter was designed to help understand the history of water and the potential for life on Mars—and it cost $125 million!

Play It Safe

These experiments are designed to be safe, but you still have to be careful. Every laboratory, or lab, has rules and so does yours. Here they are.

Make sure an adult knows what you’re doing, where you’re working, and what you’re using.

If an experiment involves very hot stuff, like boiling water or making candy, get an adult to help you! You can still be in charge and run the experiment, but let your grown-up lab assistant handle the hot stuff. Not only will this keep you safe, but it has the added advantage that you get to boss around the adult. Make sure there are plenty of potholders nearby.

Read the instructions for a project or experiment all the way through and make sure you have all of the materials before you begin. There may be some items that you need to get at the grocery store, drugstore, or hardware store.

If there’s a small child or pet in your house, be extra careful not to leave small or sharp objects or any liquids (including glue) within their reach. For this reason, it’s best to do your experiments on a kitchen counter or table.

Wash your hands before and after each project.

If a project needs to sit overnight or without your supervision (like crystal making), put a label on it, place it where it won’t be disturbed, and make sure it’s not within reach of small children or animals.

When you’re finished, make sure everything is completely cleaned up and put away, the stove is turned off, and there are no chemicals left around.

Don’t pour any goopy substances down the sink. Throw them in the trash.

If