Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I'm on the project //Now You See It, Now You Don't! How Acidic Waters Make Rocks Disappear// I'm on step 11, day 2 in the mass form. I found that the mass and pH stop changing. I wonder if the result is wrong.

Please reply.

Hey, adylan!

Which one of your solutions results in the mass and pH to stop changing? If it was in the 100% distilled water solution, that result is probably good. In this experiment, we are trying to see how the acidity of a solution affects the mass of limestone. Therefore, solutions with no acidity should not affect the mass of limestone. If this occurred with other solutions, like the 50% vinegar solution, I would recommend that you continue the experiment and see if any change occurs on Day 3 or 4. Many times when experiment and conducted, we end up with anomalies. In other words, we end up with results that don't match up with the rest, and this is completely normal to occur. If no change is seen, I would also recommend that you make sure that the limestone and vinegar used are right for the experiment, so that you will be able to get the proper results. For example, if the vinegar is expired, it might not work properly in this experiment. I hope this helped you!!

Thanks, Probiotics

Sorry, I was on day 3.

Hi again!

By day 3, you should be able to see a difference in the pH and mass of the rock. If no difference is recorded at all and you have time, I would recommend repeating your experiment. This would help you get multiple trials and ensure that your data is accurate. However, if you did get some data, I think you should be able to compare this data to the data from the other water solutions and present this data together. I hope this helped you!

Thanks, Probiotics

@probiotics Thanks a lot!

You're welcome! Glad I could help.