Fun with Science Experiments Trivia Quiz

Answer: Water vapor (H20)

The formula for sucrose, or table sugar, is C12H22O11. The sulfuric acid reacts with the sugar and causes it to lose water into the atmosphere. The remaining carbon then solidifies and grows past the rim of the beaker.

Answer: Methyl Green

All indicators change colors at specific pH levels. Phenolphthalein changes from clear to pink around the pH level 8.0. Bromothymol Blue changes from yellow to blue around pH level 6.0. Alizarine Yellow R changes from yellow to red around pH level 10.2.

There are indicators called Methyl Red, Methyl Orange, and Methyl Yellow, but there is no Methyl Green. Indicators are actually buffer solutions: mixtures of a weak acid and its conjugate base. When too much acid is converted to base, because of an increased concentration of hydroxide ions, the solution changes color.

Answer: The air pressure acting on the newspaper is too great

If the newspaper is uniformly applied, they create a single surface with a great amount of surface area. A greater surface area means that more air pressure is acting on the object. The force of the air pressure is so great that it actually takes less force to break the meter stick than to lift the newspaper, light as it may be.

This causes it to snap. I tried this with a broken meter stick that my teacher had, and I can testify that it works. Try it sometime for yourself!

Answer: Van de Graaff Generator

The Van de Graaff generator, named for its inventor, consists of a large metal sphere attached to a motor, a belt, and other components. It generates static electricity, which is distributed around the sphere. If you ever get a chance to play around with one of these machines, you should.

Some remarkable things might happen! A Tesla coil is a type of transformer, named for inventor Nikola Tesla. A voltaic pile was the first modern electric battery, named for inventor Alessandro Volta. A circuit breaker is an important safety device that will prevent a circuit from overloading.

Answer: It provides the activation energy for the reaction

The gas that is being produced is water, H2O. For any chemical reaction, a certain amount of energy must be provided to begin the process. This energy, called activation energy, is obtained by the gases when an increase in temperature increases their average kinetic energy. As a side note, this is a very fun lab, but I would not recommend it if you do not like loud noises!

Answer: Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a commonly-used agent in embalming. Strangely enough, it is also used in the production of toothpaste! Monosodium glutamate is better known as MSG, a common food additive. Ethanol is a common alcohol. Phenolphthalein is an acid-base indicator.

Answer: Polarity

Plastic is a nonpolar substance; water and glass are polar substances. When put into contact, like substances in this regard attract each other, while different substances repel each other. In other words, polar substances are attracted to polar substances but repelled from nonpolar substances.

In this case, water is attracted to the glass, so it spreads itself up the sides of the container, creating the effect of a downward meniscus. In plastic, however, water attracts to itself, creating the opposite effect.

Answer: The soda will freeze

Club soda is nothing more than a mixture of water and carbon dioxide. When a substance is dissolved in water, as with the salt in the ice, it lowers its freezing point, allowing the mixture to remain liquid at a lower temperature. Such is the case with the club soda bottle.

However, when the bottle is shaken up, carbon dioxide rises to the top of the bottle. When the lid is removed, much of the carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere. What remains has a much lower concentration of carbon dioxide, and freezes at a higher temperature.

Answer: Inverse

Boyle's Law states that the pressure and volume of a gas are inversely related. It is usually stated as PV=k, where k is a constant. Pressure and temperature are directly related, as are volume and temperature.

Answer: All of these

It is extremely important to have teacher supervision whenever you embark on a possibly dangerous experiment. You should never wear loose clothing in the lab, for it may catch on fire and burn you. Finally, for the purposes of this experiment, you must wet your arm to the elbow, or else you will burn the hair off your arm. This experiment is fun, but DO NOT try it at home or without the supervision of a professional.

I hope you enjoyed my quiz on science experiments! Hopefully it has taught you a thing or two, and maybe you will wish to try a few of these out yourself!