Name:

The Lovely Lava Lamp Lab

Background
In this experiment, a chemical reaction will be observed when an Alka-Seltzer tablet is
dissolved in water. Alka-Seltzer is a solid mixture of two substances, sodium bicarbonate
(NaHCO3) and citric acid (H3C6H5O7). When dissolved in water, the substances react to
form water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and an ionic compound (chemical formula Na3C6H5O7).

Materials
• Water
• A flask
• Vegetable oil
• Food coloring
• Alka-Seltzer tablet
• Graduated cylinder

Procedure
1. Pour 50 mL of water into the flask.
2. Pour in twice as much vegetable oil—you don’t need to measure it,
just estimate.
3. Wait until the oil and water have separated. Record your observations.
4. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the flask(choose a color).
5. Watch as the food coloring falls through the oil and mixes with the water. Record
your observations.
6. Cut an Alka-Seltzer tablet into five or six pieces and drop them into the bottle.
Record your observations.
7. Clean up: After the reaction has stopped, slowly pour most of the oil into the
designated container. Try not to pour in any colored water. Add a squirt of dish
soap to the remaining oil and water in your flask, swish it around to mix, and dump
the resulting solution down the drain.
Observations

Step Observations
Oil is added
to water The oil and water seperates. Heterogenous mixture

Food
coloring The drops of food coloring drops slowly makes its way down to the
added lower oil upper water, once surface tension is broken, the coloring is
going into the water
Alka-
Seltzer Once you add the tablets to the mixture, the colored water and the
tablet oil starts to try and mix. Although they did not mix.
added

American Association of Chemistry Teachers 1

Conclusion

1. Read the last two sentences of the background again: Alka-Seltzer is a solid
mixture of two substances, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and citric acid
(H3C6H5O7). The substances react to form water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and
Na3C6H5O7.
a. List the reactants:
Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and citric acid (H3C6H5O7)

b. List the products:

Water(H20), carbon dioxide (CO2), and Na3C6H5O7.

a. Write the balanced chemical equation.

3NaHCO₃ + H₃C₆H₅O₇ → 3H₂O + 3CO₂ + Na₃C₆H₅O₇.

2. a. Explain how this experiment demonstrates density.

The denser the liquid or substance the more it will sink or the faster it will.

b. Which material had the highest density?

The water and the oil had the highest density, the only thing was I’m confused
between which.

3. Give an example of a physical change that you observed during this experiment.
Explain how you know it was physical.
When the food coloring was add and once it broke the water andf oil barror and it hit
the water, the water changed the colors.

4. Give an example of a chemical change that you observed during this experiment.

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 The chemical change is when the alka celzer was added the oil water and food
coloring started to mix or at least try.
5. Explain how you know it was chemical.
I knew it was chemical because it was the mixing of substances.

American Association of Chemistry Teachers 3