Today we established a chemical test so we could determine if carbon dioxide is indeed one of the products of combustion (burning the candle).  We bubbled carbon dioxide gas (made from baking soda and vinegar) into a saturated (full) solution of calcium hydroxide.  Calcium hydroxide looks clear, but when carbon dioxide (a clear gas) mixes with it, small white particles of calcium carbonate form!  This is how you detect the presence of carbon dioxide gas.  The trick will be figuring out how to tell if there is carbon dioxide coming off the candle as it burns.  How could you capture that gas and then test it?  That is your job!  Tomorrow we will have Dr. Adler as a guest speaker to guide us on a density lab.

Today, there was further exploration of the combustion equation--we looked at one of the products of combustion. We had a great time making carbon dioxide and discovering how it behaved.  We used the simple method of mixing baking soda and vinegar.  Students noticed that their were bubbles and realized that there was some sort of gas in those bubbles.  This gas behaved very different from the oxygen gas we made yesterday.  The flame extinguished immediately upon being put in the flask.  And students were able to pour our the gas on their candle flame and see the flame extinguish immediately.  Carbon dioxide appears to be a heavy gas!