Examining limestone
Materials: crystallization dish, rock sample, 25% acetic acid solution
- Place the rock samples side by side in a crystallization dish.
- Fill the glass with vinegar so that the rocks are completely covered.
- What do you observe?
- Let the rocks sit in the solution for a week. What happens?
Stalactite Formation
Materials: two Erlenmeyer flasks (250 mL), two stir bars, a magnetic stirrer, two beakers (100 mL), cotton thread, a watch glass, sodium carbonate, distilled water
- Dissolve 30 g of sodium carbonate in 70 mL of distilled water and divide the solution between two beakers.
- Soak a cotton string in the solution. Then secure the ends of the string in the filled beakers so that the middle hangs over a watch glass.
- Let the setup sit overnight. What happens?
Calcium-loving plants
Materials: three watch glasses, diluted hydrochloric acid, table vinegar, 20% citric acid, saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata)
- Place three saxifrage leaves on each watch glass.
- Carefully add a drop of one of the acids to each watch glass until the leaves are covered with the solution.
- What do you observe?
