For this project, Gracyn and I had to do a magic trick involving a chemical reaction, and explain it using science.

 

Science is Magic Part 1

Lab Report

Research: Gracyn and I searched up magic tricks explained by science. The experiment we decided on was originally called water into wine trick, but since it turned more of a pink than a red, we called it water into fruit punch.

Procedure:

First you fill a glass halfway with water. Then drop in a few drops of phenolphthalein into the water.
Next grab another glass and add in 2-3 drops of sodium hydroxide into it.
Pour the glass of water into the glass with sodium hydroxide. The solution should now be a bright pink colour.
To turn it back to clear, blow into the solution with a straw. It may take a while, but it will eventually go back.
Chemical Reaction: The “magic” of this trick is easy to understand if you know the basics about acid and base indicators.

Phenolphthalein (added to water in the first cup) is an indicator, and when a solution gets added to it with a pH of 9 or greater (a base) it turns a pink colour. Sodium hydroxide (added to the bottom of the second glass) is a base with pH 14, so when the phenolphthalein gets added to the sodium hydroxide it causes a reaction that turns the phenolphthalein pink – this is the “fruit punch”.

When we blow air through a straw into the pink solution, the carbon dioxide from our breath makes the pH go below the level that makes the phenolphthalein pink, so it goes back to clear or “water.”

Outcome: Originally, we were going to use sodium carbonate (pH 11) as our base. When we used it on our first attempt, the base wasn’t strong enough to make the phenolphthalein turn a bright pink colour. We then exchanged sodium carbonate for sodium hydroxide, which has a pH of 14. On our second attempt, this time using sodium hydroxide, the base was strong enough to make the colour we were looking for.

Overall, our experiment went very well, even though we had to improvise and change our base. Our experiment was a cool magic trick, and it showed a chemical change.

By Veronica & Gracyn

 

Sources:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/waterwine.htm

http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/features/water2wine.shtml