Adam Hurley
Title
Course/Unit
Ministry
Expectations
Introduction and
Background
Materials
Safety
Procedure
Cheers! Turn Water into Wine, Milk, and Beer
SCH3U – Solutions and Solubility
Overall Expectations:
E3. Demonstrate an understanding of qualitative and quantitative properties of solutions.
Specific Expectations:
E2.1 Use appropriate terminology related to aqueous solutions and solubility, including but
not limited to: concentration, solubility, precipitate, ionization, dissociation, pH, dilute,
solute, and solvent.
E3.1 Describe the properties of water (e.g., polarity, hydrogen bonding), and explain why
these properties make water such a good solvent.
The demonstration illustrates the electronegativity and polarity of water molecules. It
displays the strength of intermolecular forces vs. the strength of water’s
electronegativity and how that determines solubility of ionic compounds. This
demonstration is beneficial to use in both the Solution and Solubility, and Chemical
Reactions units.
distilled water – saturated sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) – 20% sodium carbonate solution
(Na2CO3) - phenolphthalein indicator – saturated barium chloride (BaCl2) – sodium
dichromate crystals – concentrated hydrochloric acid – water glass – wine glass – milk glass
– beer mug
All chemicals must be handled carefully and with respect. The solids and liquids used in
this inquiry are safe for you to use with the following precautions:
 It is recommended that safety glasses be worn.
 Acids and Bases are caustic in high concentration; therefore, concentrations
being used should be diluted unless otherwise stated.
 If spilled on skin or clothing, rinse with running water.
 Ensure to wash hands and instruments thoroughly when finished.
 Once used, mark the drinking glasses so they will be identified as Chemistry Use
Only.
 Use caution with the conc. HCl, which can cause a serious acid burn.
Preparation: (The following steps should be done without the students knowing…add the
HCl in immediately prior to beginning the demo).
Name: _______________
Date: _________________
1. Prepare Glass #1 (Water Glass)
a) Fill the glass about ¾ full of distilled water
b) Add 20-25 mL of sodium carbonate
c) Mix to dissolve ingredients
d) Solution should have a pH of 9
2. Prepare Glass #2 (Wine Glass)
a) Place a few drops of phenolphthalein indicator in into the bottom of the wine glass
b) Ensure that the glass is completely dry as any water residue will turn pink/red
3. Prepare Glass #3 (Milk Glass)
a) Pour ~10mL of saturated barium chloride solution into the milk glass
4. Prepare Glass #4 (Beer Mug)
a) Place a very small number of crystals of sodium dichromate into the beer mug
b) Up to this point, the set-up can be performed in advance of the demonstration.
c) Just prior to performing the demo, add 5mL of concentrated HCl to the beer mug.
* To perform the demonstration, simply pour the solution from the water glass into the
wine glass. Pour the resulting solution into the milk glass. This solution is finally poured into
the beer mug.
Results
Explanation
What We Called It
What Was In The Glass
Chemical Reaction
“water”
Na2CO3
CO32-HCO3- + OH-
“wine”
“milk”
Phenolphthalein indicator
BaCl2 (aq)
HIn + OH-In- + H20
Ba2+ + CO32-BaCO3 (s)
“beer”
HCl(conc) & Na2Cr2O7
BaCO3(s) + 2H+Ba2+ + H20 +
CO2(g)
The "water" in the first glass is really a solution of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), also
known as washing soda. The carbonate ion causes the solution to be alkaline, that is, it is a
weak base that produces hydroxide ions (OH-).
The second glass contains several drops of phenolphthalein indicator. An indicator is a
substance that is a different color in acidic solution than it is in basic solution.
Phenolphthalein is colorless by itself, but when the alkaline "water" is poured into the
glass, it turns pink, giving a solution that looks like a light red wine.
The third glass contains a saturated solution of barium chloride (BaCl2). When the "wine"
is poured into the glass, the carbonate ions in the solution react with the barium ions to
form barium carbonate (BaCO3), a white solid precipitate. The suspension of white solid in
the solution makes it look like milk.
Tips for
The fourth glass contains concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl) and some sodium
dichromate crystals. When the "milk" is poured into this, the barium carbonate reacts with
the acid, forming soluble barium ions, water, and carbon dioxide gas. The white solid
dissolves, the carbon dioxide creates bubbles, giving the solution a "head," and the sodium
dichromate crystals, yellowish-brown in acidic solution, gives the colour of beer.
The areas to concentrate on in the explanation include:
Adam Hurley
Success/Teacher
Notes
1. The electronegativity and polarity of water molecules
2. The ability for ionic substances to dissolve in water because of this
electronegativity
3. The strength of intermolecular forces vs. the strength of water’s electronegativity
and how that determines solubility of ionic compounds
4. The role of OH- ions in a basic solution and H+ ions in an acidic solution
Electronegativity in a water molecule is caused by the unequal sharing of electrons. Even
though the charges balance (-2 + 1 + 1 = 0) the oxygen atom with its 6 electrons draws
hydrogen’s single electrons to it. This results in a partial negative charge (-) at the
oxygen atom and a partial positive charge (+) at the hydrogen atoms. Remember that in an
ionic substance, such as sodium carbonate, the cation gives its electrons to the anion and
this results in a full positive charge on the cation relating to the number of electrons it
gave up. The anion, then, has a negative charge relating to the number of electrons it took.
In the reference section a link is provided for a short movie illustrating the polar water
molecule dissolving an ionic substance at the particulate level.
References
Further explanations for each step of the demonstration are included on the particulate
drawings. To assist in student understanding, have large coloured cutout atoms with their
potential charges written on them. Taping them to a large black board as they are needed
offers a visible guide to the microscopic interactions. Pairing this with each step of the
demonstration will allow students to make sense of what is happening. You could bring
students up to the board and have them attempt to work out what happens as BaCl or HCl
is added or just for extra hands to assist you. An alternative to cardboard cut outs is to
use a felt board and felt cutouts. These may be better suited for reuse. Or if you find it
simpler transparencies of the particle drawings are also included. These may also be used
to go through the symbolic equations.
Movie clip showing the ionic compound NaCl dissolving due to polar water molecules:
http://cwx.prenhall.com/petrucci/medialib/media_portfolio/text_images/058_DissolutNa
Cl.MOV
Name: _______________
Date: _________________
Solutions and Solubility Worksheet
Water-Wine-Milk-Beer Demo
1. Describe what an indicator is and how it changes colour.
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What is an alkaline? What affect does it have on chemical reactions?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Draw and Describe what you saw when the “wine” became “milk”.
4. What chemicals caused the wine to turn into milk? How did these chemicals produce solids
suspended in the liquid milk?
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. What substances are formed when the barium carbonate reacts with the hydrochloric acid when the
“milk” is being poured into the “beer” mug?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. Describe electronegativity. Where is it evident in this demonstration?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. Describe the term precipitate and discuss how it is formed.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
8. Discuss one concept that you learned from this demonstration
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________