Mimic volcanic activity in your kitchen

We are going to imitate volcanic activity with very simple materials that you probably already have in your kitchen. Through this scientific activity you will learn how different substances react when they are mixed together.

Make sure you have the following materials to perform this experiment:

✔ 6 cups of flour
✔ ½ cup of warm water.
✔ Plastic bottle (personal size)
✔ 4 tablespoons of cooking oil.
✔ 2 cups of salt
✔ A cardboard base.
✔ Green and brown paint (optional)
✔ ¼ baking soda
✔ ½ cup vinegar
✔ 3 tablespoons of liquid dishwashing detergent.
✔ red food coloring (optional)
✔ Warm water

Process

The first thing you have to do is the dough for the volcano. Take your measuring cup and spoon and mix together 6 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, ½ cup of water, and 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. Once the mixture is smooth and firm, glue the bottle onto the cardboard and form the volcano by adding the dough around it until it looks like a mountain. Do not forget to leave the mouth of the bottle free, this will act as a crater. You can add water to soften the dough.

When you finish the volcano let it dry (it can take 3-5 days to dry completely). If you wish, you can paint it.

Now that you’ve finished the volcano, it’s time to see it in action! Using a funnel, fill the bottle halfway with warm water and a few drops of food coloring, preferably red. Then put about 6 drops of liquid detergent into the mixture, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and finally vinegar. Watch your volcano erupt and don’t forget to make your notes.

Discussion

What caused the “eruption” of our volcano? Simply put, the rash is due to a chemical reaction between vinegar, which is an acid, and baking soda, which is a base. Mixing these substances produces carbon dioxide, which forces the contents of the bottle out of the volcano.

When an acid and a base are mixed, they react to neutralize each other, resulting in the production of salt and carbon dioxide in the process. In real volcanoes, carbon dioxide is also present when they erupt!