Gas Me Up, or, A Baking Powder Diver

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 77; no. 2; p. 171
• Main Authors: Derr, Bretton J, Derr, Henry R, Lewis, Tricia, Tom Hanninen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton Division of Chemical Education 01.02.2000; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Baking; Buoyancy; Chemical Reactions; Chemistry; Density (Matter); Elementary Secondary Education; Experiments; Gases; Physical Sciences; Physics; Science Activities; Science Instruction; Demonstrations; Elementary / Middle School Science; Tested Demonstrations; Acids / Bases
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/ed077p171

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.