David+G14


 * DETERMINING HOW THE pH OF A LIQUID AFFECTS HOW MUCH IT DISSOLVES A MARSHMALLOW **

David G.

2013 - 2014

The purpose of the experiment was to find how the pH of a liquid affects how much it dissolved a marshmallow in a 24 hour period. A beaker was filled with 300 milliliters of water for the control test, and a marshmallow was dropped into the beaker. 24 hours later, the current volume of the marshmallow was measured and subtracted from 28.67 cm^3, the original volume. This test was repeated with ammonia and vinegar. The vinegar dissolved the marshmallow 3 13/15 cm^3, 2 19/20 cm^3 more than ammonia, and 3 7/60 cm^3 more than distilled water. The water dissolved the marshmallow 3/4 cm^3, and the ammonia dissolved 11/20 cm^3 of the marshmallow. It was concluded that both ends of the pH scale will dissolve a marshmallow more than water, but the acidic end more than the basic one. During an unexpected 120 hour soak in ammonia, the marshmallow only dissolved about 1/4 cm^3 more than a 24 hour soak, so from that it was concluded that the rate at which a marshmallow dissolves in a liquid decreases as time progresses.
 * ABSTRACT **

**EXPERIMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE EXPERIMENTS** Some future experiment ideas would be to find whether or not the same thing happens with the same liquids and the same marshmallows, but in the presence of an antacid tablet. Another would be to see not only how the experiment works with Campfire brand marshmallows, but with an organic brand or perhaps a gluten free brand. A way to improve the experiment might be to use different liquids that go to more extreme ends of the pH scale.

To read the full paper, download the PDF file below. 