Protect Your Family From Fraudulent Flu Products

Activity – Fizz Race

By Veronica I. Jaramillo

Safety Suggestions

Ask an adult for permission to do the activity and for help when necessary.

Read all directions and safety recommendations before starting the activity.

Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (safety glasses, at a minimum), including during preparation and clean up.

Tie back long hair and secure loose clothing, such as long sleeves and drawstrings.

Do not eat or drink food when conducting this activity.

Clean up and dispose of materials properly when you are finished with the activity.

Thoroughly wash hands after conducting the activity.

Caution: hot liquids!

Do not eat or drink any of the materials used in this activity.

Disposal: All liquids and solutions can be poured down the drain with running water. Solid waste can be disposed of in the trash.

Introduction of activity

Alka-Seltzer is a common antacid used to relieve an upset stomach. Alka-Seltzer and other fizzing tablets produce carbon dioxide-filled bubbles when placed in water. As the carbon dioxide is produced, you can see bubbles grow and float to the surface of the water. You may even be able to hear the bubbles as they pop.

Let's see how you can make the fizzing reaction of Alka-Seltzer tablets go faster or slower. We can monitor the formation of carbon dioxide by hearing the fizz and seeing how long it is produced. 

Materials

6 Alka-Seltzer Gold tablets

Room temperature water, 125 mL

Cold tap water, 125 mL (about ½ cup)

Hot tap water, 125 mL

Vinegar, 375 mL (about 1½ cups)

6 clear plastic or glass cups or Ziplock bags

Stopwatch or stopwatch app that can measure seconds

Measuring cup ½ cup (250 mL)

1 piece of scrap paper (wax or parchment paper works too)

Procedures

Prepare for the activity

Pour 125 mL (about ½ cup) of vinegar into each of 3 clear cups or bags. Vinegar simulates the excess acid in the stomach.

Unwrap 3 packets of Alka-Seltzer tablets so that there are 6 tablets.

Fold one piece of scrap, wax, or parchment paper in half. 

Part 1. How does the tablet surface area affect how fast or slow the reaction will occur?

Whole Tablet:

As you start the stopwatch, drop one Alka-Seltzer tablet in the first cup of vinegar.

Stop the time when the bubbling ends and record this time in the chart.

Broken Tablet:

Place an Alka-Seltzer tablet between the pages of a piece of folded paper near the crease. Use the bottom of the measuring cup to press on the tablet and break it into about 6-8 pieces.

As you start the stopwatch, slide the Alka-Seltzer tablet pieces down the crease of the paper into the second cup of vinegar.

Stop the time when the bubbling ends.

Powdered Tablet:

Using the same piece of folded paper, place an Alka-Seltzer tablet inside the pages near the crease. Use the bottom of the measuring cup to press and crush the tablet into a fine powder.

As you start the stopwatch, slide the powdered Alka-Seltzer down the crease of the paper into the third cup of vinegar.

Stop the time when the bubbling ends. 

Part 2. How does temperature affect how fast or slow the reaction will occur?

Add 125 mL (approximately ½ cup) of hot tap water to the first clean clear cup, 125 mL of room temperature water to the second clean cup, and 125 mL of cold water in the third clean cup. Use an oven mitt or potholder when handling the hot tap water.

As you start the stopwatch, place one whole Alka-Seltzer tablet into each of the three cups of water.

Compare the amount of bubbling in each cup. Write the time the bubbling ends in each cup in the chart. 

Observations

Part 1.  Surface Area data table

Describe what you heard and saw. How vigorous was the bubbling?

Observations

Time

Whole tablet

Broken tablet

Powdered tablet

Part 2. Temperature data table

Observations

Time

Hot water

Room Temperature water

Cold water

From your observations in Part 1, what change to the surface area made the reaction go faster?

From your observations in Part 2, how did the temperature change affect how fast the reaction occurred? 

How does it work?

Alka-Seltzer reacts with an acid to make carbon dioxide gas. When you added the tablet to the vinegar or water, you heard fizzing and saw bubbling. If the reaction is going faster, then it will take less time to finish and will fizz more vigorously.

The speed of a reaction depends on the number of collisions between molecules. The carbon dioxide forms when two key ingredients in these tablets, citric acid and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), dissolve in water and then randomly collide into each other in just the right way. The sodium bicarbonate must collide with the acid to make the carbon dioxide gas. When surface area is increased, the citric acid and sodium bicarbonate dissolve better and faster in water. When these dissolved particles collide, the chemical reaction happens. More dissolved particles leads to more collisions and a faster reaction. In your trials, when was the surface area the largest? Did the rate go faster?

Temperature also affects the rate of a reaction. When temperature is increased, molecules move faster, so it is likely there will be more collisions in the same amount of time. Think about a class of students entering a room. If they walk, there is less chance that they will bump into another student, but if all the students are running into the room it is very likely there will be some collisions between students. In your trials, did the hot or cold water finish first?

Using what you learned about changing the rate of chemical reaction, what would you do if you wanted to make the reaction with Alka-Seltzer happen even faster than your fastest recorded time? What could you try if you wanted to make it happen slower than your slowest recorded time?

Veronica I. Jaramillo, Ph.D. Is the Natural Science Department Cair at Pasadena City College.

Alka Seltzer® is a registered trademark of Bayer HealthCare LLC.

Alka-Seltzer Plus Mucus-Conges

This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.

Medical warning:

Moderate. These medicines may cause some risk when taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.G. Doctor or pharmacist) for more information.

How the interaction occurs:

Your antidepressant may cause your body to process dextromethorphan more slowly. In addition, both medicines can increase the level of serotonin in your body.

What might happen:

You could have worsening of usual side effects such as dizziness, headache, or nausea.High serotonin levels may cause changes in body temperature, blood pressure, muscle movements and mood, leading to a medical condition called Serotonin Syndrome. Serotonin Syndrome may be very serious or rarely life threatening.

What you should do about this interaction:

Make sure your healthcare professional (e.G.Doctor or pharmacist) know that you are taking these medicines together. Do not take more than the recommended amount of dextromethorphan.If you experience muscle twitching, tremors, shivering or stiffness, fever, heavy sweating, heart palpitations, restlessness, confusion, agitation, trouble with coordination, or severe diarrhea contact your doctor right away.Your healthcare professionals may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.

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CONDITIONS OF USE: The information in this database is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of healthcare professionals. The information is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions or adverse effects, nor should it be construed to indicate that use of a particular drug is safe, appropriate or effective for you or anyone else. A healthcare professional should be consulted before taking any drug, changing any diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment.

11 Advertising Slogans That Became Famous Catchphrases

Back when there were only three TV channels and no way to fast-forward through the commercials, advertising slogans stuck with us. Some ad slogans became so famous that people used them in daily conversation (just like those mad men on Madison Avenue hoped). See how many of these popular advertising phrases you've uttered, even when you didn't remember the context or product.

This 1971 Alka-Seltzer ad was one of the first created by the Wells, Rich, Greene advertising agency. The catchphrase soon took on a life of its own (how many parents used it to convince their picky kids to eat their broccoli?).

A year after their "Try it, you'll like it" triumph, Wells, Rich, Greene came up with another memorable phrase to promote Alka-Seltzer: "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." The line, moaned in the TV spot by poor, miserable Ralph to his sleepy wife, came to copywriter Howie Cohen after overindulging at a dinner party.

Many folks remember the tagline but not the product from this long-running ad that debuted in 1972. The "secret" was Calgon, a water softening powder that allegedly helped get laundry 30 percent whiter when added to your regular detergent.

Softer bath water apparently was the key to washing away daily stress in the 1970s and '80s. The original Calgon bath powder was just a slightly different version of the softening agent sold for laundry use (the product name is a portmanteau of calcium and gone), but the product line was later expanded to include foaming milk baths and scented salts.

"Dishpan hands" were the bane of every homemaker's life before automatic dishwashers became standard kitchen equipment. Yes, rubber gloves provide a solid protective barrier between hot water, detergent, and human flesh, but apparently that was just too pedestrian for the manufacturers of dishwashing liquid. Many brands, such as Vel and Ivory Liquid, boasted that their lack of "harsh chemicals" made the products gentler on hands, but Palmolive took it a step further and positioned its dish soap on the same level as pricey moisturizers. Take it from Madge, the all-knowing manicurist: That pretty green stuff softens your hands while you scrub pots and pans.

This catchy phrase was coined in 1975 by the Ogilvy and Mather agency as "Don't leave home without them." Them referred to American Express Traveler's Checks, and the somber warning was delivered by actor Karl Malden, who was co-starring as a hard-boiled homicide detective on the TV series The Streets of San Francisco at the time. Eventually American Express altered the phrase to promote its credit card.

Stuffing or potatoes? Tastes great or less filling? When it comes to foodie feuds, one of the longest-running has to be butter versus margarine (or "plant-based butter," to use a modern euphemism). In the early 1970s, consumers cared more that their margarine tasted like the butter, as this spot for Chiffon margarine demonstrated.

This tagline was a gold mine for stand-up comedians of the era, who spelled relief from L-I-Q-U-O-R to things we can't mention here. However, the "relief" sought in this case was for acid indigestion, and Rolaids was the remedy. The minty antacids had plenty of actors in its commercial spelling "relief" R-O-L-A-I-D-S.

This somewhat titillating tease was used for years to sell Miss Clairol hair coloring. (The answer, by the way, was "Only her hairdresser knows for sure.") It was preferable that the public (and catty girlfriends) could not tell at a glance that you were touching up your roots with artificial means.

Retired manicurist-turned-character actress Clara Peller was hard of hearing, which is why she happened to bellow her famous line. A year after filming her first Wendy's commercial, Peller filmed an ad for Prego pasta sauce, wherein she announced she'd "finally found it" (i.E. The beef). The hamburger chain terminated her contract, leaving Peller (who apparently didn't thoroughly understand the "non compete" clause she'd signed) to gripe, "I've made them millions, and they don't appreciate me."

The phrase that has entered the lexicon to describe someone who is a perpetual also-ran was actually coined back in 1925 to sell Listerine mouthwash. The brand eventually dropped its judgy ad slogan for scenarios suggesting that the key to a happy marriage is fresh breath.

A version of this story was published in 2014; it has been updated for 2024.

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