Use Yeast Science to Inflate Balloons
Topics: Fourth Grade, Science
Yeast are one-celled fungi that multiply by "budding". They multiply quickly and produce carbon dioxide as they grow. Yeast are very important to us for use in baking and fermenting. This experiment will introduce your child to the concept that carbon dioxide is produced by yeast. We will also observe which sugars best “feed” the yeast.
What You Need:
- 3 packages of yeast
- Warm water
- 3 clear, 16 ounce plastic water or soda bottles
- Funnel (or steady hand to pour the yeast into the bottles)
- 3 balloons
- Rubber bands
- Various sugary liquids like cola, apple juice or orange juice, corn syrup
What You Do:
- Pour yeast into each of the bottles and then add warm water to each bottle until they are each ¼ full.
- Add a different sugary liquid to each until half way full. Make sure you label each bottle according to what you put in it.
- Place a balloon over the mouth of each bottle and then a rubber band to hold them in place.
- Wait a few hours or even a day to see how your balloons inflate, and which inflates the most, to find out which liquid your yeast likes the best!
Did You Know?
- As the yeast grows and expands in bread dough it creates pockets of carbon dioxide which then sets and makes the bread spongy as it bakes.
- It is not known when yeast was first used in bread making but it is known that it was first used in ancient Egypt.
Comments from readers
You sound like a typical overly competitive parent. Sounds like you are only concerned with your child winning. Try being creative and helping your child come up with something on their own or take a project like this one and play with it by changing things to see what happens. The idea is to learn and have fun, not just winning by using someone else's ideas.