Acids and bases are important for many chemical processes in everyday life. Also acid-base reactions like our baking soda and vinegar make for cool chemistry for kids! Learn how you can identify an acid and a base, and how to measure the acidity and alkalinity of solutions with the pH scale. Plus, lots of real life examples of acid-base reactions to try out! We love fun, hands-on chemistry for kids!

WHAT ARE ACIDS AND BASES?

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WHAT ARE ACIDS AND BASES?

Acids are substances that have hydrogen ions and can donate protons. Acids have a sour taste and can turn litmus paper red. They can also react with certain metals to produce hydrogen gas.

Many fruit juices such as cranberry juice, apple juice, and orange juices are weak acids. Lemon juice and vinegar are slightly stronger acids.

Bases are molecules that can accept hydrogen ions. Bases have a bitter taste and can turn litmus paper blue. They feel slippery to the touch and can neutralize acids.

Many vegetables have weak bases in them. A stronger base would be household ammonia. Other examples of bases include soap and baking soda.

ACID BASE REACTIONS

What happens when an acid reacts with a base? When an equally strong acid and base are combined, they become neutralized and the pH levels cancel each out. The reaction produces a salt and water, which has a neutral pH.

WHAT IS THE PH SCALE?

The pH scale is a way to measure how acidic or basic a substance is. The range of the pH scale is from 0 to 14. Acids are substances that have a pH from 0 to 7, while bases have a pH above 7. Pure water has a pH of 7, which is neutral and means it is neither an acid or a base.

We use the pH scale to measure the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of substances because it helps us understand how these substances can affect living things and the environment. It also can help us make better decisions about what chemicals we use and how we use them.

Testing pH

If you want to test for acids and bases at home, why not make your own pH indicator from red cabbage. Depending on the pH of the liquid, the cabbage turns various shades of pink, purple, or green! It’s incredibly cool to watch, and kids love it!

Check out>>> Red Cabbage Indicator

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SCIENCE PROJECTS

Working on a science fair project? Then check out these helpful resources below and make sure to grab our free printable science fair project pack! NEW! Includes acid & bases, and variables printables.

Free PH Scale Printable for Kids

ACID BASE EXPERIMENTS

Vinegar and baking soda experiments are classic acid-base reactions. You’ll also find experiments that just use an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. We have so many fun examples of real life acid-base reactions that your kids will love to try! Check out these acid-base experiments below.

Balloon Experiment

Blow up a balloon with an acid-base reaction.

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Balloon Experiment

Baking Powder Science

Find out what happens to baking powder when you add water. Here is a simple acid-base reaction that you use in baking.

Bottle Rocket

Make a rocket from a water bottle with a vinegar and baking soda reaction. This experiment is sure to be a blast!

Citric Acid and Baking Soda

We gathered up some of our favorite citrus fruits to experiment with a fun acid-base reaction. Which fruit makes the biggest chemical reaction; oranges or lemons? 

Cranberry Secret Messages

Cranberry juice and baking soda is another fun acid-base experiment to try. Plus, find out how you can use it to send secret messages to a friend.

Dancing Corn

Bubbling corn or dancing corn looks like magic but really it is a fun variation of the acid-base reaction, baking soda and vinegar.

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Dancing Corn Experiment

Egg in Vinegar Experiment

Can you make an egg bounce? What happens to the shell? Does light pass through it? Find out when you add an egg to a container of vinegar.

Fizzy Lemonade

Find out how to turn an acid base reaction into a fizzing drink!

Lemon Volcano

Make a fizzing lemon volcano when you add baking soda to lemon juice.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

Take the baking soda and vinegar reaction outside with an easy sandbox volcano!

Salt Dough Volcano

Make your own homemade volcano science project from salt dough, and baking soda and vinegar.

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Salt Dough Volcano

Fizzing Slime Volcano

This is by far one of the coolest slime recipes we have to date because it combines two things we love: slime making and baking soda vinegar reactions. Learn how to make an unique slime recipe while also experimenting with acids and bases! 

Dying Eggs With Vinegar

Here’s a fun way to color real eggs with an acid-base reaction.

Seashells In Vinegar

What happens when you put a seashell in vinegar? What are the effects of ocean acidification? Explore what happens to seashells in vinegar.

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Science Experiments By Age Group

We’ve put together a few separate resources for different age groups, but remember that many experiments will cross over and can be re-tried at several different age levels. Younger kiddos can enjoy the simplicity and hands-on fun. At the same time, you can talk back and forth about what is happening.

As kiddos get older, they can bring more complexity to the experiments, including using the scientific method, developing hypotheses, exploring variables, creating different tests, and writing conclusions from analyzing data.

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

  • 90+ classic science activities with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information. NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!
  • Best science practices posters and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!
  • Be a Collector activities pack introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
  • Know the Words Science vocabulary pack includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!
  • My science journal writing prompts explore what it means to be a scientist!!
  • Bonus STEAM Project Pack: Art meets science with doable projects!
  • Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics
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