Dancing Conversation Hearts

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Dancing Conversation Hearts Science Experiment

It is always so much fun in creating learning opportunities around the holidays. We have had so much fun with our previous conversation heart experiment that we thought we would take it a step further, observing how density can make the conversation hearts dance. Before we begin with this Dancing Conversation Hearts Science Experiment, take a moment and pin this post on your homeschool science board for later!

Dancing Conversation Hearts Supplies

What you will need:

1. 8 (more optional) Conversation hearts or hard candy of some sort
2. One can of fresh, clear soda (Sprite, 7 Up, or Seltzer)
3. 2 cups or glasses
4. A container (optional)
5. Water
6.  1tbs Baking Soda
7. White Vinegar

Conversation Hearts Density Experiment

What to do:

Part 1 Soda Dancing

1. Fill the glass nearly to the top with the fresh soda.
2. Take the four or more conversation hearts and drop them, one at a time, into the soda.
3. What happens when you drop the hearts into the soda? Write down your observations in your journal.
   
4. Watch the soda for a few seconds.
5. What happens to the conversation hearts shortly after they’ve been dropped into the soda?
   Write down your observations in your journal.
6. Watch the soda for at least five more minutes.
7. What happens to the conversation hearts in the soda over time?
   Write down your observations in your journal.

Part 2 Vinegar and Baking Soda Dancing

1. Fill the glass half full of water.
2. Mix one teaspoon of baking soda.
3. Add the conversation hearts.
4. What happens to the conversation hearts in the water and baking soda? Write down your observations in your journal.
5. Slowly add white vinegar until the glass is nearly full.
6. Do the conversation hearts “dance” in the baking soda and vinegar mixture? Why do you think this happens? Record your observations in your journal.

Conversation Hearts Density Experiment in Action

How the Density Experiment works

In this experiment, we dropped conversation hearts into a glass of freshly poured, carbonated soda. The conversation hearts are denser than soda. Remember when we observed density in different liquids? Well because the conversation hearts are denser than the soda, they should have quickly thumped to the bottom of the glass. As you observe them for a few minutes, you notice that they slowly rise. Because those carbon dioxide bubbles in the soda were sticking to the candies, once enough soda bubbles accumulate on the candy, they are lifted through the soda. Once the conversation hearts are at the top, the carbon dioxide bubbles escape into the air, which causes the candy hearts to sink once again. The process starts again causing the hearts to go up and down and appear to be dancing. Water, Baking Soda, and White Vinegar also create carbon dioxide gas creating the same effect.

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