In this experiment, you’ll distil water or take salt out of it, and you won’t need a lot of expensive chemistry equipment to do it. Impossible, you say! Try it and find out.
Things Required:
A small clear jar with lid, half-filled with water
Use of microwave adult’s help recommended)
Kitchen mitt, pot holder or dish towel
A spoon
Salt
Directions:
Drop a few grains of salt into the jar of water. Stir it with a spoon and taste it. The water should taste salty; if not, add a few more grains of salt. Put the jar of salt solution in the microwave (without lid) for about 90 seconds, or until the water comes to a boil.
Do not touch or remove the jar from the microwave! The water is scalding hot!
Carefully reach in with a mitt or folded dish towel and hold the jar while you screw on the lid. (Better yet, get an adult to do it for you.) After the jar has thoroughly cooled, unscrew the lid and taste the water drops under it or on the sides of the jar.
This Is What Happens:
The water drops on the sides of the jar or under the lid do not taste salty.
Science Behind It:
The boiling water in the closed jar makes steam (water vapour) that collects as condensation (water drops) that forms on the sides of the jar or under the lid. Salt is a compound that will not leave the water (in steam) when boiled, so the salt is removed from the steam. This is a good way to purify water.
