Frankenworms

 - by KitchenPantryScientist


All you’ll need for this spooktacular experiment that we demonstrated on Kare11, are some gummy worms, scissors, baking soda, vinegar and water.

Cut some gummy worms into extra skinny worms by cutting them the long way with kitchen shears.  If it’s too tricky, ask an adult to help with this part. Cut each worm lengthwise at least four times. The skinnier, the better! *Not all gummy worms are created equal. If your worms aren’t wriggling, dip them in baking soda before putting them in the vinegar!

Mix a few Tablespoons of baking soda into a cup or so of water, stir, and put your skinny gummy worms in the cup of baking soda solution.  Let them soak for 15 or 20 minutes.

Fill a clear glass or jar up with vinegar. (Be careful not to splash any in your eyes.)  When the 15 minutes are up, pull your worms out of the baking soda solution with a fork, and drop them into the glass of vinegar. What happens?

Your worms should start to float and move as the vinegar (acetic acid) reacts with the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to form carbon dioxide gas bubbles on the worms.  They look like they’re alive and will wriggle until the chemical reaction stops!

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