This Mystery is out of date! Please proceed to Chemical Magic to see the updated version.
What would happen if you drank a glass of acid?

What would happen if you drank a glass of acid?
Scroll for prep
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?

DISCUSS:

This probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard the word ‘acid’. What does this word make you think of?

Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

Activity: Make an Egg without a Shell

This is one of our favorite activities. You start with an ordinary chicken egg. Leave it in vinegar overnight & the acid dissolves the eggshell. You end up with a egg that’s held together by the flexible membrane inside the shell.

You’ll find detailed instructions on how to make a “naked egg” on the Exploratorium’s Science of Cooking website.

Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

Activities: Taste the fizz

You’ve seen that adding baking soda to acid makes it fizz. Here are two activities that use that fizz to make tasty treats.

New Zealand’s Science Kids explain you how to make fizzy lemonade.

The folks at Planet Science explain how to make a candy treat called sherbet. Watch out! This candy zaps your tongue with fizz.

Who knew science could be so tasty?

Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
Doctor Andreas Libavius by Judy Volker
old tools and mesauring devices by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Neil Lockhart
white vinegar by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: focal point
hydrochloric acid and aluminum by MausolfB Education
grocery store by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: 1000 Words
rotting apples by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Vladmir Melnik
salad dressing by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: g-stockstudio
lemon juice by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: dwcreations
lemon juice bottle by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Photo travel VlaD
citric acid reaction by Matt Allen
sulfur powder by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: pedphoto36pm
hydrochloric acid and soda can reaction by STESCHEM's channel
kid drinking water by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: kazoka
sulfuric acid and hamburger reaction by LET"S MELT THIS
sugar and sulfuric acid by Home Science
penny in nitric acid by owigger
danger sign by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Kim Britten
chemist by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Photosky
injured finger by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: JPC-Prod
condiment bottles by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Stephen Coburn
cucumber by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: foodonwhite
pickle jar by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Alen Kadr
lemonade by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: GrigoryL
kool-aid by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Perry Correll
orange by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Maks Narodenko
lime by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: azure1
grapefruit by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Anna Kucherova
orange juice by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: victoriaKh
sandwich by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Hurst Photo
bread by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Nikola Bilic
girl drinking orange juice by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Milica Nistoran
hot dog by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Elena Shashkina
Activity
horses eating hay by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Rita Kochmarjova
Credits

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this Mystery, students are introduced to acids, a group of substances with a reputation for being reactive. In the activity, students test the properties of a series of unknown liquids in order to identify which are acids.

Preview activity

Supplies you'll need for students

For classrooms, we recommend students work in groups of four. Homeschool students can work alone. Each group of four students, or each single homeschool student, needs:

  • 1 set of handouts
  • white vinegar
  • salt
  • baking soda
  • orange juice, lemonade, Tang or other drink containing citric acid
  • mustard or ketchup
  • toothpicks
  • small cups (e.g. 3 oz bathroom cups--plastic ones can be washed and re-used. Beware that paper cups filled with vinegar start leaking after an hour)
  • spoons (plastic or metal)

Supplies you’ll need to make Bean Water and the three Unknown Liquids

  • a measuring cup
  • a tablespoon
  • 2 bottles that hold at least a pint each (Check the recycling bin. You will use them again in Mystery 3)
  • 1 cup of dried black beans
  • a bowl or jar (1-quart capacity for a small group, 2-quarts for a large class)

What you'll need to do before class

  1. Measure out and set up the supplies (here’s how )
  2. Make Bean Water (here’s how )
  3. Create the Unknown Liquids (here’s how )

Exploration

15 mins

Hands-On Activity

40 mins

Wrap-Up

3 mins

Extend this lesson

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline: