Using simple ingredients you can grow this monster!
You need:
• 4 tablespoons of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking soda
• 100% alcohol solution (70% alcohol will not work. I got this 100% solution from our friend who has a laboratory.)
•Long Stem Lighter
• Mixing cup
• Spoon for mixing
Measure out the sugar and the baking soda.
Mix them well.
Put the mixture on a DRY patch of soil.
Use the spoon to shape it into a cone.
Pour the alcohol around the mound.
Use the lighter to light it up and watch the monster grow!
The kids enjoyed this so much we did it twice! We grew two hydras!
Teo poked and touched the hydra when it cooled. It was soft and felt like foam.
Simple Scientific explanation:
When you set the mixture on fire, the sugar and baking soda burned together with the oxygen in the air. The baking soda burns faster than the sugar and it creates carbon dioxide which limits the amount of oxygen for the sugar to burn and convert itself into water and carbon dioxide.
This makes the sugar decompose to create black carbon or charcoal. The carbon dioxide gas and water vapor push the sugar and baking soda mixture upwards and this resulted in the fire hydra that we saw rising from the sugar baking soda mound.
Simpler explanation:
Science is great! Using simple ingredients we can make something awesome 😎
Domestic Goddess Tonni 