Mwhaaaaaaaa

That is my best mad scientist impression.

We’ve begun ocean chemistry today.  Read: “we’ve begun chemistry” today.  The boys were joined by BR for a lesson in the basic understanding of acids and bases.  (Our goal is to see whether sea water is more acidic or basic than tap water that has sat for 10 minutes [to remove choline].)

We gathered household items to see what they tested when confronted with Ph papers.

Our items were:  lemon juice,  ammonia, pickle juice, hydrogen peroxide, hand sanitizer (nod to H1N1), dish soap, Zout, Comet cleaner, tap water, and last but certainly not least JV’s spit.

We then recorded our findings.

In addition, we mixed some ammonia and bleach outside – too watch the bubbles from a safe distance and lots of safety discussion.  We are getting ready to test it after lunch to see what its Ph is now that the reaction has stopped.

AV withdrew to read from a chemistry textbook. He came back and asked if we could put ammonia and aluminum foil into a lidded glass jar and see what happens.  Yup.  We are keeping one eye on it as we move through our regular work.