Avalanche in a Cup (Chemistry)

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One cap of anionic polyacrylamide powder (aka “snow”) is placed in a 4 oz. portion cup. Water is added to the portion cup until it is completely full. As the snow absorbs the water it also binds with the air and creates a fluffy, white, powdery by-product that resembles freshly fallen snow. This chemical is reusable, let it dry out, store it, and pull it out again next year.

Kids will observe and classify lab demonstrations as physical changes, which produce a change of shape or state, or chemical changes, which produce a new product evidenced by the emission of light, heat, or odors, a change of state, or a change in color.

They will classify matter based on physical properties, including: absorbency, mass, magnetism, physical state, relative density, solubility in water, and the ability to conduct or insulate thermal or electric energy.

Kids will also conduct an experiment with sodium polyacrylate and water to demonstrate the principle of conservation of mass that states, “ matter can cannot be created or destroyed, it is simply rearranged to take another form”