vinegar
baking soda
red food coloring
liquid dish soap
play dough
paper plates
Dixie cups
measuring utensils
Play Dough Recipe
2 c. flour
1 c. salt
1 c. colored water
1 tsp. alum (optional to preserve)
Alternate Play Dough Recipe
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 Tbsp. cream of tartar
1 c. water
1 Tpsp oil
Optional: add vanilla or peppermint extract before cooking. Smell is our strongest link to memory.
(mix and cook over skillet on low/medium heat for 3-5 minutes)
Concept: Vinegar causes the baking soda to bubble and turn into a gas (carbon dioxide). The dish soap slows down the chemical reaction to form the lava.
Procedure: Place Dixie cup on center of paper plate. Use play dough to form base of volcano. Have student measure 1 Tbs. of baking soda. Place into Dixie cup inside crater of volcano. Squirt one squirt of liquid soap into crater of volcano. Take volcanoes outside for eruption time. Let students pour one Dixie cup full of vinegar into volcano (can be repeated by adding more vinegar).
Extension: Experiment with different materials to form volcano. Add more or less dish soap, baking soda, vinegar and observe.
Application to Real World: Why do volcanoes erupt? A volcano is a vent through which molten rock escapes to the earth's surface. Unlike other mountains, which are pushed up from below, volcanoes are built by surface accumulation of their eruptive products - layers of lava, ashflows, and ash. When pressure from gases within the molten rock becomes too great, an eruption occurs. Volcanic hazards include gases, lava and pyroclastic flows, landslides, earthquakes, and explosive eruptions.
