Dr Bunhead - Science Education

The Science Of Acids Part 2

These experiments are to see how strong the acids are in fizzy drinks.

Acid tooth fairy deterrent experiment

You can only do this experiment if you can get hold of an old tooth, for example, if one of your milk teeth has recently come out. Don't try pulling them out of anyone's mouth, leave this for dentists to do! If you can't get hold of an old tooth then try the coin experiment below.

Put the tooth in a glass of Cola and leave it for a few days. You will see the tooth is slowly eaten away. The Tooth Fairies will be disappointed with such a grotty tooth so make sure you get your reward from under your pillow before you do the experiment.

Coin cleaning experiment

You can also do this with dirty or old copper coins (1p and 2p coins) - much easier to get hold of than old teeth. Leave these in some Cola for a few hours then take them out and wash them. You will notice that the coins are now bright and shiny where the acid in the Cola has 'eaten' all the 'dirt' from the coin.

Acidity quiz

Scientists measure the acidity or how strong an acid is by using a special scale called 'The pH scale'. It's a bit odd because the bigger the pH number the weaker the acid. So, pH of 1 means very strong and quite dangerous. Acids with a pH of 1 can burn holes into your skin. pH 3 means medium strength. These acids sting if you get them in cuts but they won't damage your skin if you spill them on yourself. pH 5 means a very weak acid and pH 7 means not an acid at all, we say it's neutral. Water has a pH of 7 and so water is pH neutral.

You can see how Acid Art is made and how to make an Edible Acid Machine in the next experiment.
Science Of Acids Part 3

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