- Make your own glue.glue bottle image by Bruce MacQueen from Fotolia.com
Chemistry is the study of matter and its changes. One of the easiest and fun ways to learn how matter can change is by doing projects or experiments. These chemistry projects are suitable for students of any age, though younger students will require some aid and supervision. Since these projects can be completed with common, everyday objects, they can also be performed at home. - Mix 1/4 cup baking soda with 1/4 cup water. Dab a Q-tip, toothpick or paintbrush into the mixture and write a secret message on a piece of paper. Let the liquid dry completely. Spread grape juice concentrate over the message with a paintbrush or sponge and your message will appear; the acid in grape juice reacts when in contact with baking soda, causing a different color to appear over the invisible ink. Remember that grape juice will stain.
- Use a bottle of Diet Coke or Coke Zero that is at room temperature. Open the bottle and place it outside on the ground. Roll a piece of paper into a tube so that the candy Mentos will fit snugly inside. Hold the tube upright and cover the bottom opening with a playing card. Load four to six mint Mentos into the tube. Place the tube and card over the mouth of the soda bottle, making sure they are aligned. Pull out the card so the Mentos fall into the bottle and run out of the way as the soda geysers into the air. The carbon dioxide in the soda is attracted to the Mentos through the process of nucleation, and creates enough pressure for the soda to fly out of the bottle. Be sure to wear goggles during this experiment.
- Pour 1/4 cup of milk into a paper drinking cup. Adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and stirring for one minute will form clumps and clear liquid. The clumps are curds and the liquid is whey. Place a cheesecloth over another paper drinking cup to act as a filter. Push the middle of the cheesecloth down. Pour the mixture over the cheesecloth. The whey should flow through the cheesecloth into the cup and the curds should remain on the cheesecloth. Squeeze the cheesecloth to get any remaining liquid out and discard all of the whey. Scrape the curds into the empty paper cup and add a pinch of baking soda. Stir to form glue. Vinegar causes the protein found in milk, called casein, to turn into a solid. Its molecules are long, stringy and sticky and act as glue.
