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Gas Me Up, or, A Baking Powder Diver

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Bretton J. Derr

McCormick Junior High School, Cheyenne, WY 82009

Henry R. Derr

Department of Chemistry, Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, WY 82007

Tricia Lewis

Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701

Tom Hanninen

Department of Chemistry, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA 19530

J. Chem. Educ., 2000, 77 (2), p 171

DOI: 10.1021/ed077p171

Publication Date (Web): February 1, 2000

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

In this procedure, a pipet that repeatedly submerges and rises to the surface in a tub of water is produced from a beral pipet and baking powder. The diver uses the same principles as the "submarine" or "frogman" that were obtained with cereal box tops in the 1950s. More recently, various "sharks" using this chemistry have accompanied a candy product of the same name.

A weighted plastic pipet, with its tip sealed and the majority of its bulb end removed, is packed with baking powder and placed in water. In the presence of the water, carbon dioxide is formed from the baking powder, changing the buoyancy of the diver. The buoyancy of the diver oscillates between positive and negative as the amount of gas attached increases and then decreases at the surface of the water.

The procedure works well in outreach activities with children aged 4 to 40 and beyond. It was used with great success in a mall outreach program during National Chemistry Week. Visitors to the chemistry area were able to make-and-take a diver after testing it in a tub of water.

Keywords (Audience):

Elementary / Middle School Science

Keywords (Domain):

Demonstrations

Keywords (Feature):

Tested Demonstrations

Keywords (Subject):

Acids / Bases

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This article has been cited by 1 ACS Journal articles (1 most recent appear below).

Two "Gas-in-a-Bag" Reactions To Show the Predictive Power of the Relative Acid–Base Strength Chart
Brett Criswell , Holly M. Bevsek , Carole Bennett
Journal of Chemical Education2006 83 (8), 1167
- Two "Gas-in-a-Bag" Reactions To Show the Predictive Power of the Relative Acid–Base Strength Chart
  Brett Criswell , Holly M. Bevsek , Carole Bennett
  Journal of Chemical Education2006 83 (8), 1167
  High-school chemistry curricula have often been maligned for being too long on theoryand too short on applied chemistry. Certainly, very little consideration is given in most curricula to the rich arena of descriptive chemistry, particularly helping ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links