Home chemistry experiment with ethanol and water

This time we present a homemade chemistry experiment with which you will check the behavior of certain liquids when they interact with each other. The key of the experiment is that you are going to notice that in certain occasions the mathematical norm that indicates that 2 + 2 is equal to 4 is not always fulfilled.

Materials needed for the experiment:

• Sanitary alcohol or ethanol.

• A large test piece.

• Some containers.

• Distilled water. It is easily obtained in supermarkets.

Steps to follow to make your home chemistry experiment:

• Pour 200 ml of distilled water into the test tube. You must be careful with the measurements so that the experiment is done correctly. Therefore the amount must be exact. In case you happen to only see the liquid in another container.

• Pour the 200 ml of distilled water - after measuring them - into a glass.

• Repeat the same steps with ethanol.

• Next, what you will do is put both liquids in the same glass.

As soon as you finish with the previous steps, think about the following: 200 ml of distilled water plus 200 ml of ethanol should result in a preparation containing 400 ml, right?

To verify this, we invite you to pour the contents of the mixture back into the test tube to determine what is the quantity that you have. You will discover that they will be less than 400 ml!

¿Why does the amount of milliliters of the mixture decrease?

The result of this home chemistry experiment when combining the two elements is a volume contraction. In other words, if you use a scale you will notice that the mass has not changed.

The effect is presented by the strong cohesion that exists between the ethanol molecules and the distilled water, which produces an approach. The more you use for the experiment, the greater the difference in volume you will find.