Molecules

"I know what I'm going to do," Nissa announced as if she was telling the world. "I'm going to sprinkle a little bit more baking soda into my vinegar and water. And then I'm going to stir it around and around like I do when I'm making cupcakes with my mom."

"Oh really? Well, Joshua put two big spoonfuls of baking soda in his jar of vinegar and water all at once. And just look at his solution now." Millions and millions of tiny shining bubbles suddenly appeared in Joshua’s solution, twinkling like tiny stars on the skin of red buoyant cherries.

"These cherries are beautiful," Serene stared through the glass jar and watched the cherries as they rose up to the top of the water then spun around and sank back down. "Look how the cherries spin around and around."

"Why do we add cherries to the vinegar and baking soda? I'd rather just eat them. " Jill told us.

"Maybe the cherries do something to the baking soda," Joshua speculated.

"Yeah. Or maybe they do something to the vinegar," Joshua added.

Joshua’s mother walked up to me and asked, "Do you mind if I bring two more children into this lesson? It looks like this is fun."

"No. Not at all. I welcome all children in my science classes. Join us please." Two children, no older than five years old, came up to me as I began to fill their jars with water, a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and a few spoonfuls of baking soda. "Good luck. I hope you make lots and lots of carbon dioxide bubbles." Carbon dioxide bubbles jumped onto the surface of their red cherries buoying them up and up and up toward the mouth of the jar. The two young children watched the cherries spin around at the top of the surface of the vinegar solution then sink quickly back down to the bottom of the jar.

Chance stretched his neck over the top of his jar so he could see the cherries rush up toward his eye, reach the surface of the mixture then roll around and slide back down to the bottom of the jar. "I am using my science eyes and I see the cherries are moving up to the top of the water and then down. Up and then down."

"Good work. Keep using your science eyes and give me more information." I looked around and noticed that every one of the children was looking at the moving fruit inside their mixture from every angle possible. Jill had her chin on the table as she watched the bottom of her jar while Nissa watched her mixture from the side of the jar. The two younger children stood on the bench staring directly down into the throat of their jar.

"When you stir, stir very gently. You don't want to mess up the building that is going on in there." I told them.

"Now there's three cherries caught at the top of my jar. They can't go back down. They are stuck." Serene aggressively stirred the mixture around and around with a wooden chopstick.

When I looked over at Joshua I noticed his mouth was hanging open like a fish mouth; gaping open as if he was caught in a moment of pure wonder. "Look. Look at my cherries," he managed to speak. "They are going up and up like balloons, like red balloons.”

"Oh my, what molecules did you build Joshua?"

"Watch! The cherries go up just like my balloons from the ice cream parlor," He tried to scream out at me but couldn't gather enough air for a scream.

"Good. Very good observation, Joshua. Tell me more of what you see. Don't leave anything out.”

Chance looked up at me and announced, "These cherries are covered with bubbles. Look at them! Maybe it’s like making Swiss Cheese. "

"Oh children, did you hear that?" I stretched my neck over the opening of his jar and said, "Chance observed the gas bubbles are all over the outside of the cherries. Wow. That was a very good observation. Now you are observing like a scientist."

"Why do the cherries fall back down?" Nissa asked with a tinge of disappointment.

"Who can tell Nissa why the cherries fall back down to the bottom of the jar?"

"Well, between us two there's nothing between that doesn't belong between us." Chance began. "All there is is energy and information, remember?" he asked in a strong, authoritative voice.

"What do you mean Chance? Where's the energy and what is the information nature is giving us here?"

"The energy is..." he stumbled, sorted out his words, and pointed to his jar, "...right in the jar."

"Yes. Go on," I looked at Jill stirring her vinegar solution vigorously. “Be careful. There’s lots of building going on in that jar. Remember molecules are built by elements joining one another. You are building. We are dealing with the built world.”

"The energy is in the stuff we put in the jar, the baking soda and the vinegar. It's energy that is coming out of them somehow. At least I think that is how it is," Chance told me.

"Yes. Very good. The vinegar and baking soda molecules change shape and release two elements. It may look like magic to some, but it is chemistry that you are observing. The chemical energy from these substances allows carbon and oxygen to join one another and make carbon dioxide gas."

"My dad has gas when he eats brussel sprouts," Jill blurted out at us and then quickly added, "It is not carbon dioxide gas. I know that." She laughed heartily.

"Now, what is the information?" I asked the children as they continued to watch the gas bubbles jump onto the red cherries making them rise then fall.

"Gas," several of the children answered in unison.

"Yes. And what can you tell me about gases?"

Joshua spoke up immediately, "They lift things. Like cherries and balloons."

"And what else do gases do?" I opened the top of a balloon and spread it over the mouth of Joshua’s jar. "Let's see what else gases do."

"I know. I know." Nissa was always willing to share her thoughts. "Gases go up." She watched the balloon on top of Joshua’s jar swell up into a sphere, reminding her of bubblegum bubbles she loved to make.

"What is happening to my balloon? It is getting larger and larger!" Joshua stepped back as if the balloon was going to burst into his face.

"It's filling up with gas, carbon dioxide gas," Chance yelled out.

"How big will it get?" Serene took a few steps backwards.

"Maybe it will blow up!" Jill began stepping away from the table.

"Here's a balloon for each of you. Stretch the opening of your balloon over the mouth of your jar and collect your carbon dioxide gas in the balloon and then follow me." I looked over at the two young children who just joined us and noticed they had already begun collecting their carbon dioxide gas into their balloon. They clung to their bottles tightly as if their balloons were filled with helium.

"Where are we going?" Chance asked.

"We are going to feed a tree." I told him.

“Feed a tree? What do you mean?" For the first time I could see that Chance was taken by surprise and looked more perplexed than ever.

"Feed a tree the carbon dioxide gas you made." I informed him.

"What? Trees eat a gas?" Serene laughed through her question.

"Come with me and feed the forest." We all gathered into a line and marched through the lightcave at the rim of the meadow. We crossed the road and entered the deer path which took us down into the sunshine of yet another meadow. "Now carefully choose any bush or tree that you can see around here and walk over to it and gently release the gas from your balloon onto the plant. Be very gentle." I watched as each child carefully removed the balloon from the jar. Nissa chose a plant immediately. Chance walked around several plants before he decided which one would get his carbon dioxide bubbles. Serene went straight for ollieberries hanging on a bush. Joshua knew he wanted to feed a redwood tree. That was the strongest looking plant he saw. The children carefully released the gas from the balloon onto their chosen plant.

“Why do the plants eat a gas for heaven’s sake?” Jill turned to me, feeling so awkward she was on the verge of a nervous laugh. “I never heard of this before. I’m going to tell my mom that plants eat a gas. She won’t believe me.” For the first time I realized Jill sometimes had a mouth like a loose canon.

Joshua’s mother walked over to me, her eyes squinted almost shut. “Do you mean to tell us that the whole plant world depends on one molecule for its carbon so it can make sugars and starches?”

“That’s what plants need, yes.” I replied. “It is an interesting fact that all life depends on carbon, an element that is not very abundant on this planet. It is less than 1/5th of 1% of Earth. Isn't that hard to believe when you look around you and see so much life?”

"I would have expected life to be made out of aluminum," Joshua's mother quipped before adding, “Or silicon. They are everywhere."