Valentine Candy Science: Candy Heart Reactions

I bring you another science idea for Valentine’s Day. This candy science investigation tests to see if candy hearts react with baking soda or vinegar.

Candy Science: Conversation Heart Reactions

Valentine Candy Science: Candy Heart Reactions

This idea came about because my son wants to mix everything with baking soda and vinegar lately. After we dissolved the candy hearts in water, Aiden asked to add some vinegar and baking soda to the hearts.

That brings us to today’s questions: What happens when you add candy hearts to vinegar? What happens when you add candy hearts to baking soda {and water}?

Materials:

  • candy hearts
  • containers
  • vinegar
  • baking soda
  • water

Procedure:

  1. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to one container.
  2. Drop in a candy heart. Observe what happens.
  3. Mix together 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of water.
  4. Add 1/2 cup of the baking soda and water solution to a second container.
  5. Drop in a candy heart. Observe what happens.

Our Observations

When we added the candy heart to the vinegar, nothing really seemed to happen. The letters floated to the top. Candy Science: Candy Heart in Vinegar

The candy heart started to dissolve a bit. {Here would be another fun experiment. Try to dissolve your candy hearts in different solvents. Check out our dissolving candy hearts experiment where we compared vinegar and water.

When we added the candy heart to baking soda and water, we got a reaction. Watch the video to see what happens.

The Science Behind It

Do you know why the candy hearts reacted with the baking soda and water? Come back tomorrow and see our experiment to determine which ingredient in the candy hearts is responsible.

More Valentine’s Day Ideas

Subscribe to the Inspiration Laboratories newsletter. Each issue has exclusive hands-on science explorations for children, a recap of our latest activities, and special resources selected just for you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *