Over the last two weeks Year 5 have been learning about and identifying acids and alkalies using the pH scale. During the first week the pupils showed reciprocity whilst working in groups to identify the pH of common household products such as apple juice, limescale remover and toothpaste. Everyone was very excited to wear the safety goggles and gloves. David in USA class said, “I feel like an actual scientist.”
This week pupils investigated the pH of sweets. Pupils had to crush the sweets and then mix the ground sweets with water before testing the pH with litmus paper. The pupils showed resilience whilst crushing the sweets which proved to be difficult! The results were shocking. Kerry said, “I can’t believe how acidic all the sweets are!”.
The classes discussed what this would mean if we ate lots of sweets. Some pupils felt they should stop eating sweets all together. Ryan said, “I don’t want to stop eating sweets but I think I will eat less and always make sure I brush my teeth well afterwards.”
