Cup and Saucer Chemistry

By Nathan Shalit

Written by an award-winning author of science books for children, this engrossing book enables youngsters (ages 7 to 13) to do 38 safe experiments at home or in the classroom with such common items as a teaspoon and saucer, paper towels, aspirin, baking powder, plastic straws, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol.
The language of the text is clear enough for grade-school children yet is consistently (and technically) accurate and informative. Directions for simple experiments describe how to write "invisible messages" with home-made phenolphthalein, how to clean pennies with salt and vinegar, how to break aspirin into its components and how to perform a variety of other experiments involving carbonates and acids, precipitates, crystals, emulsions, catalysts, hydrogen, copper plating, chemical indicators, color flame tests, and much more.
Easy-to-follow instructions, accompanied by abundant and clearly detailed illustrations, distinguish a book which not only provides children with fun-filled scientific challenges, but also serves as a valuable aid to parents, teachers, and other adults working with youngsters interested in science.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: Jan 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9780486146645

Book preview

DOVER SCIENCE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

FUN WITH SCIENCE: 46 ENTERTAINING DEMONSTRATIONS, GEORGE BARR. (0-486-28000-4)

SCIENCE RESEARCH EXPERIMENTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, GEORGE BARR. (0-486-26111-5)

ENTERTAINING SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS WITH EVERYDAY OBJECTS, MARTIN GARDNER. (0-486-24201-3)

EXPERIMENTING WITH WATER, ROBERT GARDNER. (0-486-43400-1)

SAFE AND SIMPLE ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS, RUDOLF F. GRAP. (0-486-22950-5)

HUMAN ANATOMY IN FULL COLOR, JOHN GREEN. (0-486-29065-4)

BIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS FOR CHILDREN, ETHEL HANAUER. (0-486-22032-X)

PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS FOR CHILDREN, MURIEL MANDELL. (0-486-22033-8)

HUMAN ANATOMY COLORING BOOK, MARGARET MATT AND JOE ZIEMIAN. (0-486-24138-6)

CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS FOR CHILDREN, VIRGINIA L. MULLION. (O-486-22031-1 )

47 EASY-TO-DO CLASSIC SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS, EUGENE F. PROVENZO, JR., AND ASTERIE BAKER PROVENZO. (0-486-25856-4)

SCIENCE MAGIC TRICKS, NATHAN SHALIT. (0-486-40042-5)

CUP AND SAUCER CHEMISTRY, NATHAN SHALIT. (0-486-25997-8)

LIFE IN A TIDAL POOL, ALVIN SILVERSTEIN AND VIRGINIA SILVERSTEIN. Illustrated BY PAMELA AND WALTER CARROLL. (0-486-44592-5)

A WORLD IN A DROP OF WATER: EXPLORING WITH A MICROSCOPE, ALVIN AND VIRGINIA SILVERSTEIN. (0-486-40381-5)

NATURE’S CHAMPIONS: THE BIGGEST, THE FASTEST, THE BEST, ALVIN AND VIRGINIA SILVERSTEIN. (0-486-42888-5)

THE CODE OF LIFE, ALVIN AND VIRGINIA SILVERSTEIN. (0-486-43944-5)

LIFE IN A Bucket OF SOIL, ALVIN AND VIRGINIA SILVERSTEIN. (0-486-41057-9)

SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AND AMUSEMENTS FOR CHILDREN. CHARLES VIVIAN. (0-486-21856-2)

MY FIRST HUMAN BODY BOOK, DONALD M. SILVER AND PATRICIA J. WYNNE. (0-486-46821-6)

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Copyright © 1972 by Nathan Shalit.

All rights reserved.

This Dover edition, first published in 1989, is a slightly abridged, slightly corrected republication of the work originally published in 1972 by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New York. Please note the addition of the warning on page 5. Some of the original illustrations have been deleted, and some have been altered to depict the experiments more accurately.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shalit, Nathan.

Cup and saucer chemistry / Nathan Shalit ; illustrated by Charles Waterhouse.

p. cm.

Slightly abridged, slightly corrected republication of the work originally published in 1972 by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New York—T.p. verso.

Summary: Simple experiments with materials available in the home reveal basic chemistry principles.

9780486146645

1. Chemistry—Experiments—Juvenile literature. [1. Chemistry–Experiments. 2. Experiments.] I. Waterhouse, Charles H., ill. II. Title.

QD38.S49 1989

542–dc19

89-1268

CIP

AC

Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation

25997807

www.doverpublications.com

A NOTE OF WARNING

While the experiments described in this book, if properly conducted, will pose no threat to the safety of those involved, many of the materials used can present risks if mishandled or swallowed. Readers of this book are cautioned to insure that adequate ventilation is provided when performing the experiments on pp. 77–81 (Caramel and Charcoal and Flames); you must have an exhaust fan that exhausts to the outside of the house. Read and obey any cautions printed in each experiment description. All experiments utilizing fire should be done next to the kitchen sink as a caution against fire. Above all, children should have permission and assistance from their parents before doing any experiments or handling household items. The publisher cannot assume any responsibility for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this book.

Table of Contents

DOVER SCIENCE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

Title Page

Copyright Page

A NOTE OF WARNING

INTRODUCTION

PIPETTE

FILTER

TEST TUBES

ACIDS AND BASES

SOLUTIONS AND SOLUBILITIES

SOLUTIONS, WITH COLOR-CHANGE

SOLUTIONS AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

PHENOLPHTHALEIN T.S.

MORE INDICATORS

TURMERIC

SECRET WRITING

ASHES AND MORE ASHES

CARBONATES AND ACIDS

MORE CARBONATES AND ACIDS

CANDLES AND CO2

CANDLE CHEMISTRY

CANDLE GAS

MORE WITH A CANDLE FLAME

IODINE

IRON

IRON OXIDE: Two Experiments

IRON TANNATE

FERRIC HYDROXIDE

IRON: More Experiments

OXYGEN AND AIR

ASPIRIN

COLOR FLAME TESTS

NEUTRALIZATION

PRECIPITATES

ANOTHER PRECIPITATE

CRYSTALS

STILL MORE CRYSTALS

CARAMEL

CHARCOAL AND FLAMES

EMULSIONS

CATALYSTS

COPPER

REDUCING SUGARS

COPPER PLATING

HYDROGEN

SOAP

WATER–HARD AND SOFT

DOVER BOOKS ON SCIENCE

INTRODUCTION

You don’t need a special chemistry set or expensive equipment to do many interesting and exciting experiments. Most of the things you need are probably right in your own home this very minute. This book will tell you how to do these experiments in your own kitchen.

Ask your parents if you have the following supplies in your kitchen or medicine cabinet: aspirin tablets, baking powder, baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), vinegar, clear ammonia, boric acid, rubbing alcohol, milk of magnesia, a candy or tablet laxative such as Ex-Lax, Feen-A-Mint, Alophen, or Espotabs. These, and others we will discuss, are easily available at your local drugstore or