Are your kids drinking enough water? This potato hydration experiment is a great way to teach children of all ages about the importance of staying hydrated.
During the hot summer days, our kids are running around outside having fun with their friends. It seems like by the time they take a break to take a sip of water, they have already sweated a bucket and are extremely thirsty.
Dehydration can have a serious impact on the human body. But that’s the last thing on your kid’s mind. That’s why this potato hydration experiment is great to explore the effect of dehydration on his or her body and why it’s important to stay hydrated.
What is Dehydration?
Dehydration is the loss of water or fluids from the body. it can be caused by many things, including not drinking enough water, excessive sweating, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Dehydration can have a number of serious effects on the human body, including:
- Reduced blood volume
- Increased heart rate
- Confusion
- Seizures
- Death
What are Some Common Symptoms of Dehydration
Common symptoms of dehydration include extreme thirst, dark urine, fatigue, headache, and lightheadedness. Dehydration must be treated by replenishing the body’s fluids. this can be done by drinking clear fluids like water or sports drinks, or by taking oral rehydration solutions.
How Can Dehydration be Prevented
Dehydration can be prevented by drinking plenty of fluids, especially water, and by avoiding excessive heat exposure. It is important to stay hydrated during hot weather to avoid dehydration and its potential consequences.
Potato Hydration Experiment
This simple STEM activity will allow the kids to see what happens when you dehydrate a potato. The best part about this dehydration experiment is that you probably already have most of the materials in your kitchen!
Do note that this experiment takes at least an hour, so don’t expect to see the effect of salt on the potato slice immediately. You can always set up the experiment and come back later in the day to observe the results.
Materials:
- 1 potato (we used a small cooking potato)
- 2 shallow bowls or dishes
- Salt
- Water
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Spoon
Instructions:
1. Start by cutting a potato in half with the knife and the cutting board. The two halves should be fairly equal in size. Make sure to watch out for your fingers!
2. Fill each dish with the same amount of water. The water level should be high enough to cover at least half of the potato slices. Ideally, you want the water to cover the entire potato, but we didn’t have a deep enough dish for that.
3. Pour about 2 tablespoons of salt into one of the dishes. Stir until the salt is completely dissolved.
4. Take one of the half potato pieces and place it in the dish with just water, flat-side down.
5. Take the other half and place it in the dish with the salt water also flat-side down.
6. Leave the potato slices to sit in the dishes for at least an hour. The longer you leave them, the more drastic the difference will be between the two slices.
7. Compare the two halves to see the difference in size and moisture content.
What happened to your half potatoes? The one soaked in salt water (the right one in the picture below) has shriveled and the size is now smaller than the one in plain water. This is because the salt content in the water draws out the moisture from the potato, causing it to shrink.
Losing moisture is exactly what happens when you sweat and don’t replenish your body with water! Draw the parallel between the dehydrated potato and what happens to the human body to teach your kids the effect of dehydration.
If you found that your potato pieces are still similar in size, you can leave them to sit in the water longer. We only waited for an hour, and the difference wasn’t huge. That said, if you pick them up and try to line them up flat-side to flat-side, you can see clearly that one is smaller than the other.
Science Extensions
If your kids enjoyed this potato hydration experiment, you can also try the following:
- Repeat the experiment with other fruits and vegetables.
- Place the potato in different liquids, such as vinegar or sugary water.
- Add the potato in salt water back in plain water.
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