This dancing raisins experiment explains how baking soda and vinegar react chemically
Science is always best understood through experimentation, especially for kids. This DIY dancing raisins experiment is a perfect way to showcase to kids how chemical reactions work. Not only is it incredibly fun to conduct and witness, it is also extremely easy to do and requires basic materials which can be found easily at home. Read on to find out what all you need, and a step-by-step guide to conducting this fun experiment with your school-goer.
What you will need
Ask your budding scientist to help you gather these basic supplies which can easily be found in your kitchen.
- A transparent glass
- Water
- 1 tbsp of baking soda
- Vinegar
- 3 raisins cut in half
- A spoon
How to
This quick experiment can be performed within 5 minutes, and is a sure hit amongst kids. Here is a step-by-step guide that your kids should follow.
- Fill the transparent glass halfway with water.
- Next, add 1 tablespoon of baking soda to this glass. Stir until it is completely dissolved in the water.
- Throw in the 3 raisins which were chopped in half, i.e., 6 pieces in total.
- After this, pour vinegar into the glass. Keep adding it until the glass is about ¾ full with liquid.
- Voila! The raisins must be now jumping around in the glass. However, if they still haven’t started doing so, use the spoon gently to stir and get them going. If they still refuse to move, try cutting them even smaller to make them lighter in weight.
What exactly is happening in this experiment?
This fun science experiment demonstrates how chemical reactions take place when acids and bases collide. Here, when the vinegar (acid) is mixed with the baking soda (base), carbon dioxide is released. As a result, bubbles are formed in the liquid which start rising to the surface and pop. When light objects such as the raisins are dropped into the liquid, their buoyancy increases. This is a consequence of the bubbles sticking to their surface, thus causing them to rise to the surface of the liquid with the bubbles. As these bubbles start popping at the surface, the raisins then fall back into the liquid again. This is caused because they have more density than the liquid. On their way back down, they end up collecting more bubbles which causes them to repeat this process several time. This is how the raisins appear to be dancing.