Chemistry Sets: What's Not Included

Any parent knows this scenario: you go to the toy store, buy your kid a really cool new kit and rush home and open it with your child, only to realize that a bunch of stuff isn’t included. Chemistry sets are a prime culprit for that, since most of them require both equipment and chemicals that aren’t provided; unless you have an extraordinarily well stocked kitchen, you’re likely missing some key ingredients.

Luckily, most chemistry sets have a section in the manual that lists everything you’ll need that isn’t included, but you don’t see that list until you’ve opened up the kit at home. This article will discuss some of the non-included materials that are most commonly required to perform experiments with a chemistry set.

Baking soda is a weak base that can be used as a counterpart to vinegar for a simple acid-base reaction. In baking, the combination of vinegar and baking soda can be used to make a cake rise.

Denatured alcohol is ethanol with additives that make it undrinkable. It is used as a solvent in experiments to demonstrate the difference between solutes and solvents. It is also flammable and can be used to power an alcohol burner or in experiments involving flames. Denatured alcohol is different from isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol.

Gloves are one of the most basic pieces of safety equipment in a real lab, yet strangely, none of the kits we found online include gloves. Anytime you’re working with chemicals, it’s a good idea to protect your skin and eyes. Most of the kits include safety goggles, but parents might also want to invest in an apron or lab coat to protect their child’s clothing from stains and spills, and gloves to protect their child’s hands.

Hydrogen Peroxide is kept in many homes as an antiseptic for cleaning minor wounds. In chemistry, it can create some neat reactions, when combined with yeast, for example. It can also be used in oxidation experiments because of its bleaching properties.

Potassium Permanganate is another chemical that you might have to find on your own. It is a salt used for reactions involving oxidation or heat. When combined with glycerin, potassium permanganate has an exothermic reaction, which means that the reaction produces heat.

Seltzer water is water infused with carbon dioxide gas, and it is used in experiments involving reaction rate. You can make your own seltzer water by dropping Alka-Seltzer tablets into regular water. Seltzer water can also be used in Mentos experiments, comparing reaction time between diet cola and simple carbonated water.

Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) is a strong base used in acid-base reactions. You can find food-grade lye at some grocery stores, although it is becoming less common. You can usually find lye at hardware stores or wherever soap-making supplies are sold.

Vinegar is a weak acid that is useful for many acid-base reactions. You can use any type of vinegar for these types of experiments, but white vinegar is the cheapest and most transparent.

The fact that so many chemistry sets require additional materials may seem like a pain, but it actually illustrates the main point of studying science – recognizing that it exists in the things you see around you every day. By using household chemicals to complete chemistry experiments, kids learn to understand how useful chemistry is in daily life.

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