This week we learned a little about Passover, and one thing we talked about was the difference between unleavened bread and the bread that we eat . . . which naturally led to a discussion about yeast and how it works. So of course, we did an experiment to see first-hand:
The materials we used were quite simple: empty water bottles, warm water, sugar, yeast, balloons and rubber bands.
We filled the water bottles 2/3 of the way full of warm water, added some sugar and shook (with the lid on) to dissolve the sugar into the water.
Next, we added the yeast and then put a balloon over the opening. (I wrapped a rubber band around the balloon for added peace of mind!) Then we GENTLY swirled the bottles to mix in the yeast.
After that, it was time to head outside to place our little experiment out in the warm sunshine!
And here's what began to happen . . .
It was pretty cool to watch the balloons expand over the span of 15 or 20 minutes!
While we were waiting, Jaden showed us that HE could inflate a balloon much faster than the little "yeast guys" ;-)
And here's the end result: Lael's experiment . . .
. . . and Jaden's
We decided that, for being little guys, yeast is pretty impressive in what it can accomplish -- whether that's inflating a balloon or causing our yummy bread to rise!
1 comment:
Hello,
I run a website called www.sciencebob.com. The site has been around for 12 years and provides experiment ideas and videos for parents, students, and teachers. Next month we are excited to be launching a new blog feature that we hope will be a great resource for science ideas and experiments. We stumbled on your "God Seekers Academy" blog and noticed your yeast & balloon experiment. These are just the kinds of ideas that we want to feature on our site. Our hope is that teachers around the world will use the site to search for science activities and then actually get to see the activities in action and read first hand from teachers how to make it work. Other teachers can then add their own twists and post them as an addition. Imagine one place to combine all the best science activities from hundreds of blogs and classroom teachers. It should be an especially valuable resource for homeschoolers, and there is nothing like it on the web that I know of.
I hope you will get a chance to check out the site (the blog will be up and running next month, but we're gathering our first batch of experiments now.) If you have interest in sharing an experiment that we can feature, let me know and I'll give you a sneak peak at the blog to get an idea of how it works.
Keep exploring our great world of science!
"Science Bob" Pflugfelder
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