Scientists Hypothesize and Test

We recently did an experiment that forced us to hypothesize and observe like scientists, and then to use our growing knowledge of matter to understand what we were seeing. It began by hypothesizing what would happen if six raisins were placed in a cup of water:

After observing for a while we saw that the raisins sank to the bottom of the cup and then did not move unless we shook the cup.

Next we observed soda water for a while. We noticed that the soda water was different in that it contained gas that continually tried to "escape" by coming to the surface of the water and then releasing into the surrounding air. We asked ourselves the same question: What would happen when we place six raisins into the soda water? We recorded our hypotheses and then tested and observed:

Wow!!! The raisins seemed to "jump"! Why did this happen? We observed that the gas in the water lifted up the raisins, and when they reached the surface of the water, the bubbles popped, and down went the raisins!

This experiment led to a lot of further questioning and experimenting. One wondering that was brought forth by many was what would happen if the soda water was left out for a day? Would the raisins still "jump" when placed inside? 

We used our growing knowledge and understanding of matter and how it behaves to hypothesize. To make our thinking visible, we put our thoughts into speech bubbles for all to see:

And what did we find out? NO! The raisins sank to the bottom and rested there. We quickly determined that the soda water's gas had mostly all "escaped" and it therefore contained nothing that would help the raisins "jump".

You can easily perform this experiment at home and watch for yourself!