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Watch this 'sugar snake' slither out of sugar and baking soda

The two combined with fire produce a snake-like tube of black carbon!

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Summer is nearly here, so it's time to take science outside! This experiment shows the transformation when a couple household ingredients are combined and fire is introduced. 

Let's make a sugar snake!

*This experiment will require an adult to handle the lighter fluid and lighter. 

Items you'll need:

  • Baking soda
  • Powdered sugar
  • Sand
  • Nonflammable container 
  • Lighter fluid
  • Long-nose lighter
  • Glass container
  • Small plastic bag
  • Safety goggles 
  • Heat-resistant gloves
  • Fire extinguisher

Procedure:

  1. Put your safety goggles on! 
  2. Place sand in the container in a mound-shape. 
  3. Measure out the baking soda and powdered sugar and mix - we want a 1:4 ratio of powdered sugar to baking soda. I used 1/8 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix well in the plastic bag.
  4. Pour lighter fluid into the glass container. This step is a safety precaution to avoid having the lighter fluid container near an open flame.
  5. Next, pour the lighter fluid into the middle of the sand mound. 
  6. Add the baking soda and powdered sugar to the top of the sand mound. 
  7. Time to put on your heat-resistant gloves!
  8. Using the lighter, light the mound and step back to watch the sugar snake develop. 

How it works:

When the baking soda gets hot, it breaks down and produces carbon dioxide. The sugar also breaks down and produces the black carbon. The carbon dioxide gas gets trapped inside air pockets of the black carbon. It’s this reaction that allows the “snake” to grow over time.

Note: My experiment did not perform as well, which could be due to the breezy winds during the time of the experiment. Check out the same experiment from the Bearded Science Guy

Sugar Snake Experiment

In this experiment sugar and baking soda decompose to create a long black carbon snake

Posted by Bearded Science Guy on Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Check out these other experiments that Laura has shared: 

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