Inquiry in Action: Exploring Baking Powder

During World War II, there was a shortage of cream of tartar and other baking products, so baking soda was introduced as an alternative. A fascinating video explores how people used to make breads and some takes a look at some of its...

In this activity, students will learn how to use reactivity properties of substances to distinguish between similar-looking substances. This lab experiment includes student and teacher information sheets.

Students will observe an exothermic reaction in this activity where they add calcium chloride to a baking soda solution. This increase in temperature is due to the chemical change that has occurred.

In this activity, students use tea light candle holders and a student-made balance to compare the weight of equal volumes of wax, water, and clay. Students will discover that since the wax weighs less than an equal volume of water, it is...

How do the densities of vegetable oil, water, and corn syrup help them to form layers in a cup? Students will carefully pour vegetable oil, water, and corn syrup in any order into a cup and discover that regardless of the order they are...

In this activity, students will investigate whether the temperature of water affects its density. Students will place colored hot and cold water in a cup of room-temperature water to see that cold water sinks while hot water floats. Then...

In this activity, students see that a can of regular cola sinks while a can of diet cola floats. As a demonstration, bubble wrap is taped to the can of regular cola to make it float. This high-volume but light-weight material increases...

Throughout the activities in this investigation, students may have wondered how a boat made out of steel, which is more dense than water, can float. This activity addresses that question. Students will see that changing the shape of an...

Students will ask questions and learn more about dissolving in this activity where they place M&M in water. Activity includes students activity sheet and teacher instructions.

An activity where students can experiment with whether different colors of M&Ms dissolve faster in water versus others. This lab includes a student worksheet and teacher instructions.