How to learn about volcanoes and chemical reactions in a simple way
In science the main attraction is the experiments, since it allows the child to explore from another point of view what happens around him, the child feels that he is innovating, and is opening to an unknown world.
One of the most important projects in any part of the world is the Study of the volcanoes, where an experiment of a chemical reaction is carried out and also lets fly the child's creativity and his skills with the crafts.
The Volcano
It is a geological structure by which magma emerges that dissociates in lava and gases from the interior of the Earth. The rise of magma occurs in episodes of violent activity called eruptions, which can vary in intensity, duration and frequency, from gentle lava flows to extremely destructive explosions. Sometimes, volcanoes acquire a conical shape due to the accumulation of material from previous eruptions. At the summit is its crater or caldera.
Volcanoes not only exist on Earth, but also on other planets and satellites. Some are made of materials considered cold and are called cryovolans. In them, ice acts as rock, while internal cold liquid water acts as magma; this happens on the moon of Jupiter called Europe.
Typically, volcanoes form on the boundaries of tectonic plates, although there are so-called hot spots, where there is no contact between plates, as is the case with the Hawaiian Islands.
-Baking soda (you can get it at any pharmacy or drugstore)
-A volcano of clay, dough or plasticine
-A tube or container of similar shape
-Vinegar
-Liquid Dish Soap
-Red food coloring
-Surround it with cone-shaped paper balls.
-Then place paper with glue and water to harden the structure.
-Finally, paint the volcano and its surrounding areas to give it a realistic touch.
Add two tablespoons of baking soda into the tube.
Add one tablespoon of liquid dish soap in the same place.
Add about five or six drops of red food coloring to simulate the lava.
Add between 30 and 40 ml of vinegar and observe the eruption.
What happens is that the bubbles that are formed are filled with carbon dioxide formed by the reaction that produces the vinegar (an acid) when hitting with the sodium (a base). These bubbles rise rapidly through the conduit by being compressed and end up being expelled by the only possible exit, as it happens with the lava.
When the vinegar is combined with the bicarbonate, an acid-base chemical reaction takes place. A chemical reaction is the process by which substances, the reactants, are transformed into other substances called products. Our reagents are vinegar (acid) and sodium bicarbonate (base) which give as products water, sodium acetate (which is a salt) and carbon dioxide (a gas).
Carbon dioxide, CO2, is the gas responsible for the formation of bubbles. When an acid reacts with bicarbonate the products are a salt, water and carbon dioxide.