Test Tube Science: Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

Materials:
   -Two test tubes
   -10 mL hot water
   -10 mL cold water
   -One tablet of AlkaSeltzer

Background:
The rate at which a reaction progresses depends on the temperature of the reaction.  This experiment lets observe this first hand.

Directions:
Fill one test tube with hottest tap water available.  Fill another with cold, cold water.  Break an Alka Seltzer tablet into small pieces.  Drop carefully into each test tube.  See which temperature water makes the most popping and fizzing.

Happy Birthday Melvin Calvin

Melvin Ellis Calvin, born April 8, 1911, using the ¹⁴C isotope as a tracer, Calvin and his team mapped the complete route that carbon travels through a plant during photosynthesis, starting from its absorption as atmospheric carbon dioxide to its conversion into carbohydrates and other organic compounds. In doing so, the Calvin group showed that sunlight acts on the chlorophyll in a plant to fuel the manufacturing of organic compounds, rather than on carbon dioxide, as was previously believed.

Remember, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate.