Help your students grasp an understanding of what one in a thousand or one in a million is. Using pennies and the “power of 10” in this simple and interesting activity, students visualize that a million is a very large number.

They conduct two different serial dilution activities that will impress upon them how very small numbers can have potential significance. Students perform a ten step 1:10 serial dilution using a colored “contaminant” then a colorless "contaminant" to make weaker and weaker solutions from 1:10 to 1:10,000,000,000. Using a chemical indicator, students next test the colorless "contaminant" for the presence of the contaminant. Serial Dilution is a valuable math-science link.

It can be used to teach powers of 10, proportions and concepts of scale. You may want to introduce this technique prior to an inquiry investigation. Accommodates 24 classes, each with 16 groups of 2 students.

Kit Contents:

16 x Serial Dilution Trays
16 x Plastic Droppers
2 x Colored Contaminant (Red Dye), Drop Control Bottle
2 x Colorless Contaminant, Drop Control Bottle
2 x Indicator Solution
16 x Water Bottles (Empty)
32 x Student Worksheets and Guides
1 x Teacher's Guide with MSDS