Dancing Dime Experiment by I. Reid

The dancing dime experiment is fun for children to do, and shows that different temperatures of air take up different amount of space.  Readers may recognize the author iReid, the talent behind the popular Bunnicula post. Let’s get right to the guest post with a word of caution that a dictionary may be required to follow along. Be sure to see the 27 second demonstration video at the end of the post.
the dancing dime experiment

What most magicians do not want to admit is that besides fast reflexes and the innate ability of humans to be easily distracted, many of their so-called magic tricks rely on simple physics. As the great Eoin Colfer once wrote, “science is taking the magic out of everything.”

The experiment of the Dancing Dime or Burping Bottle relies on simple physics to mystify and hopefully fascinate. This experiment works because of the principle of endothermic reactions. A basic concept in science is that everything wants to return to a whole and neutral state. In endothermic reactions, the whole and neutral states are achieved by absorbing heat (aka energy) from the surrounding area.

The dime dancing is the consequence of a situation akin to the constant breeze at a large lake.

Lakes are probably the easiest for a person to understand. A large body of water often acts as a heat sink as it warms and cools much slower than land or air. A breeze is generated as the body of water tries to push the warmer or cooler air on to shore to achieve equilibrium with the surrounding ambient temperature.

While many enjoy the lake breeze myself included, I must agree with Eoin Colfer. Once one understands physics it’s a bit harder to simply sit back and enjoy the mysteries of mother nature.

demonstrate-cold-air-takes-less-space-than-warm-air-experiment

Dancing Dime Directions

1. Freeze bottle in freezer area for several hours.

2.  Remove and cover the opening with a dime.

3.  Place drops of warm water over the dime.  The water acts as a little seal.

4.  As the air inside the bottle warms to room temperature, it will take up more space.

5.  As the warm air expands, the pressure will cause the dime to dance or burp.  This will continue for several minutes.

*Note:  Some people put their hands around the bottle to improve the speed of this experiment, but it works to just wait a few minutes. 

*Editor’s note: I. Reid must have swallowed an encyclopedia at some point. 

In simple terms, the frozen glass bottle, dime, and hot water on it all try to achieve the ambient temperature of the room (i.e. the whole and neutral state). This causes a physical reaction of the dime dancing as the cooler air from the frozen bottle clashes with the warmer air from the water. Metal works well in this experiment because it heats and cools quickly.

This is the video of the experiment. Also, find a free printable with the steps in the experiment at this link.

Now for the dry ice experiment!

Dry ice experiment?  Yes, this is the season where you may receive food packages in the mail packed with dry ice, like we did.  Our Thanksgiving cheesecake was packed in dry ice (and good thing we realized that quickly after opening the bag).  So, I immediately went to the Steve Spangler dry ice experiment page to see what experiment we might do, and found this one.  This is the one using warm water and a very few drops of soap.  The experiment is safe as long as the ice is not touched, and there are safety rules on the page.  Use tongs, use gloves (as demonstrated in the video) and be careful.  See more information at this link.

This is a up-close view of our jar. No one was hurt in this experiment!

dry-ice-experiment

It was exciting to watch!

dry-ice-experiment

You might also like other guest posts by i-Reid at this link.

guest-posts-by-I-Reid

 
Little-Art-City-on-the-Prairie-Impressions-of-Faulkton-South-Dakota
 

Little Art City on the Prairie: Impressions of Faulkton South Dakota

Written by I. Reid, Gary L. Wilhelm, and Carolyn Wilhelm, Cover Illustrator Pieter Els

The beauty of the prairie and the loveliness of the area inspired the main author, I. Reid. Faulkton is an example of a city that refused to simply exist (and perhaps become obsolete) and turned to its arts council for ideas.

 
 
A Mom: What is an Adoptive Mom? By I. Reid
 

A Mom: What is an Adoptive Mother? Children’s Book

What is a mother? A mother is the same whether children are adopted or biological. In this story, the child has been adopted. It is written from the viewpoint of the child to help explain mother is the same in any family. Mom helps check under the bed for monsters, reads books, and watches movies with the girl. She does the same things every mother does. Visually, the images show a white mother and an Asian daughter. The main author, I-Reid, has previously written blog posts for this blog, and now she has written her first children’s picture book.

 
 
Kingdom-of-Back-by-Marie-Lu-Book-Review-blog-post-by-iReid
 

Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu Book Review by I. Reid

 
 
freebie-homonyms-cards-to-accompany-Bunnicula
 

See my book review of Bunnicula at this link. There is a free instant PDF download educational printable at the link as well.

 
 

Chinese Zodiac Free Printable Activities and information written by I. Reid

 
Chinese-zodiac-free-printable-activities-I-Reid
 
 

Here is a link to my informational post for parents to help them understand the ratings for Japanese Manga books.

 
manga-for-kids-japanese-graphic-novels-informational-blog-post-by-i-Reid
 
  
Q-and-A-howls-moving-castle-book-and-movie-free-instant-PDF-download
 
 

Read about American farm horses and enjoy 3 freebies at that post, as well.

 
American-Farm-Horses-info-post-by-I-Reid.jpg
 
 

I love horses, so naturally, there is a second horse post. This post has a graphing freebie.

 
history-of-horses-in-America-post-with-graphing-activity-fpr-Pre-K-and-up-by-I-Reid
 
 

My own review of A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is towards the end of this post with a free literature unit supplement for teachers.

 
Geographical-plus-cultural-information-book-reivew-for-Single-Shard
 
 

I have traveled extensively, and have written a post with 8 top travel tips for you to consider.

 
eight-top-travel-tips-blog-post-by-I-Reid-1
 
 

After my trip to Shanghai, I contributed to this presentation freebie as well.

 
Shanghai-PowerPoint-Presentation-and-resource-blog-post-and-freebie
 
 

Experiments are fun, and this post tells about both the dancing dime as well as the dry ice experiments I described.

 
Dancing-Dime-experiment-information-by-I-Reid
 
 

I added information to the shells Montessori post at this link.

 
shells-3-part-cards-freebie-PDF-printable-Montessori-inspired
 
 

I added information to the shells Montessori post at this link.

 
Kingdom of Back book review by I-Reid
 
 

Critique of Two Books About the Champawat Tiger: Man-Eaters of Kumaon and No Beast So Fierce by I-Reid

 
critique-of-two-books-about-the-Champawat-Tiger-by-I-Reid
 
 

A Wrinkle in Time Movie Review by I. Reid

 
Wrinkle-in-Time-Movie-Review-by-I-Reid
 
 

Happy Lunar New Year and Spring Festival 2022 informational blog post by I. Reid

 
happy-lunar-spring-festival-tiger-year-2022-info-blog-post
 
 

Blog posts by I. Reid include book reviews, science, history, and travel.

 
guest-posts-by-I-Reid