Learned society / professional body /scientific trust
Students investigate the properties of a cornflour and water mixture to see how the mixture changes when stirred slowly compared to when stirred quickly. This demonstrates how the same mixture can behave differently depending on the type of force applied.
A model volcano can be made by building a 'mountain' of modelling clay around a cup or plastic bottle containing baking soda and food colouring. Students can see for themselves that the addition of vinegar causes a chemical reaction that gives off carbon dioxide and causes the 'volcano' to 'erupt'.
Dropping raisins into a fizzy drink demonstrates how the carbon dioxide gas escapes. As the raisins collect more bubbles on their surface they rise up to the top of the cup, when they reach the surface the bubbles of gas escape and cause the raisin to sink again.
Problems faced by chemical engineers are illustrated by real items from chemical plants and on video.
