Go Science Girls

Static Electricity Balloon and Salt and Pepper Experiment

  • April 30, 2019
  • 1-2 Year Olds , 10 Minute Science , 3-4 Year Olds , Household Items , Physics , Taste-safe

Static Electricity Experiment : Well, you all might have seen a balloon magically sticking to something. What could be the reason behind it? Don’t know!!  Today’s experiment is all about that. Excited ? continue reading.

Static Science Experiment Salt Pepper and Balloon

What are we waiting for!! My little ones are already near the experiment table with the ingredients we need to start the experiment. Let’s get started.

Balloon, Salt and Pepper Experiment

What do we need .

We can do this activity with four everyday materials that we find in our home.

  • Balloons (any light coloured balloons are preferred so that the kids will be able to observe the experiment clearly)
  • Ground Pepper
  • Dry Woollen Cloth

Things We Need For Salt and Pepper and Balloon Experiment

Steps to get your balloon to attract pepper

My kids are very much excited to grow a stubbly beard to their favourite coloured balloon. Let us know the steps to get such hairy beard to the balloon using our simple science experiment.

Step-1: Inflate the balloon Tisha (my younger one) was very happy to blow the balloon to the size on which we are able to draw a face (that resembles features of a dad figure). Tie the balloon after blowing to hold the air inside the balloon.

Blow the balloon static science experiment

Step-2: Draw a face As we already discussed in the first step, draw a cartoon face using a permanent marker pen. Do not use sharpened pens as it pops out the balloon. I can see a glimpse on my younger daughter’s (3yrs old) face after drawing a cartoon face on the balloon. After the experiment she blew few more balloons and enjoyed drawing faces and also tried some different shapes on it.

Draw Your Favourite Face in Balloon - Static Science Experiment

Step-3: Sprinkle salt on the plate Ask your kid to measure a spoonful of salt and sprinkle it on to the plate.

Sprinkle salt on the plate for balloon pepper salt experiment

Step-4: Add Pepper into the salt Measure the same quantity of ground pepper and put it into the plate. Now mix both the ingredients. No wonder, kids are very much interested in mixing any kind of things. My kids are also excited to mix salt and pepper.

Add Pepper In To The Salt for Static Science Experiment

Step-5: Rub your balloon with a woollen cloth

  • Before rubbing the balloon to a cloth, ask your child to place the balloon near the cracked pepper and observe.
  • Ask some questions to your child to check how far they understand the experiment and also they will understand the experiment further easily by following this important step.
  • Now ask your kid to charge the balloon by rubbing the dry woollen cloth against it.

Rub Balloon With Woollen Cloth Go Science Girls

Step-6: Bring the balloon near to the salt and pepper

After rubbing to a dry woollen cloth, ask your kid to bring the balloon nearer to the mixture of salt and pepper on the plate.

Kids will be amazed now seeing pepper getting stuck to the balloon without touching. It gives an interesting sound which would increase their curiosity. 

Little ones are happy to see the beard formed on to the cartoon’s face they drew on the balloon. In fact, they are surprised to see the magic of sticking pepper to the balloon.

Bring The Balloon Near To The Salt And Pepper

They kept on asking me questions on how did this happen. Even as a mom, I enjoyed showing this fun and simple static science experiment to my kids.

Now it is time to learn the science behind this fun activity.

To make your kids better understand about the experiment we have listed few important questions (some questions are directly from my daughter’s). Have a look!

Why does a balloon attract pepper?

Rubbing a balloon to a piece of dry woollen cloth or fabric gives it a negative charge, also called as static electricity. When the balloon gains enough static electricity, the negative charge attracts neutrally charged surfaces like pepper and salt.

Confused!!!? Let me explain you in detail.

In our experiment, when balloon is rubbed against the cloth, some of the free electrons jump on to the balloon and creates negative charge. When the balloon is brought closer to the neutrally charged pepper, the negative charge on the balloon attracts the pepper.

How does a balloon become charged?

Things are basically are made of atoms, electrons, neutrons, and protons (positively charged). An atom looses an electron resulting in a positive or negative charge. These charges will now attract the opposite forces in some other objects when brought nearer to them.

When the dry woollen cloth is rubbed against the balloon, the free electrons (formed when atoms loose an electron) jump directly on to the balloon and produces negative energy or surface on the balloon.

What will a charged balloon attract? A charged balloon attracts positive or neutrally charged surfaces. Enough static electricity on the balloon will force it to stick to the opposite forces.

Why does static electricity attract pepper? When any object is rubbed against another, the surface of the object is charged, that charge is known as static electricity. Static electricity is created because of rubbing which produces negative charge that is carried by electrons. The electrons further build up to produce static electricity. This static force attracts opposite forces like positive and negative charges. Thus, the static electricity being negatively charged attracts neutrally charged pepper.

Why does salt and pepper separate with static electricity?

Pepper is the lighter body rather than the salt. Hence, static electricity attracts pepper than a salt body.

Is Salt attracted to static electricity? Both salt and pepper are attracted to the static electricity. As pepper is lighter than the salt, pepper takes less effort to get stick to the opposite charges.

Why does rubbing a balloon charge it? Rubbing a balloon to a fabric creates negative charge on its surface since the free flow of electrons happens between the cloth and the balloon surface.

How does a balloon make static electricity? Static electricity is more noticeable in dry conditions. Since the dry cloth is rubbed against balloon, the negative charge is created on the surface of the balloon also knows as static electricity.

What happens when a charged balloon is brought near other materials? When a charged balloon is brought near other materials, we can observe some “Attractive Forces” between them.  We tried with two charged balloons. They both attract each other and get stick to one another. Even the charged balloon will stick with walls. But they would lose charge eventually and drop from the walls. 

Is Pepper lighter than salt? Yes, pepper is lighter than salt.

What materials produce the most static electricity? The materials that have tendency to cause most static electricity are human hair and skin, dry woollen cloth, leather, rabbit and cat fur, silk, aluminium, paper, lead, glass, and nylon.

How does a body get charged on rubbing? The free electrons in any object or thing are transferred from one body to another on continuous rubbing thus making one body negatively charged ( one which accepts electrons ) and the other becomes positively charged ( one which looses electrons).

What are 3 ways an object can be charged? An object (electrically neutral) can be charged by using any of the following methods.

  • Charging by friction
  • Charging by conduction
  • Charging by induction

How static electricity is used to separate mixtures? Static electricity experiment is the classic activity for kids since they get fascinated by seeing how static electricity separating mixtures.

Static electricity is an imbalance build up of charges. Consider a mixture of salt and pepper. Since the pepper is lighter thus attracted more to the object with static electricity (brought nearer) leaving the heavier granules of salt. Thus, separation of mixtures happen using static electricity.

Static Electicity Go Science Girls

  • Demonstrations
  • Home Experiments
  • Separating Salt & Pepper with Balloons
  • by Joe Crowley
  • in Home Experiments
  • on December 9, 2021

Contributed by Shubhang Tyagi

Introduction 

Do you want to be able to control minuscule particles like salt and pepper? Do you have hair? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you are in luck. A physics phenomenon in electrostatics allows us to use out hair to control salt and pepper! 

  • A full head of hair
  • Colored notebook

Procedure 

● Place the colored notebook on a flat surface. 

● Pour out a mixture of salt and pepper with an arbitrary amount of each condiment onto the center of the notebook. 

● Blow up the balloon. 

● Aggressively rub the balloon for 1 minute on your head. 

● Place the balloon over the mixture of salt and pepper and observe what happens. 

● Some particles from the mixture should rise up and stick to the balloon, whereas others will glide away from the balloon. 

Physics Concepts and Questions 

The separation of the salt and pepper particles happens due to the fact that unlike charges attract and like charges repel. When the balloon is rubbed aggressively on your head, lost electrons from your hair attach themselves to the balloon. This makes the balloon have an excess negative charge, since electrons are negatively charged. The mixture of salt and pepper has some particles that are positively charged and some that are negatively charged. The particles that are positively charged will rise up and stick to the balloon due to the attraction of unlike charges. Similarly, the particles that are negatively charged will glide away from the balloon due to the repulsion of like charges. 

Conclusions and Further Investigations 

Since we are now aware of the science behind like and unlike charges, try to see what other household items can be moved with just a balloon. Rubbing a comb on woolen clothes has the same effect, so try charging up a comb and holding it near a stream of water.

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Experiment with Static Electricity!

Try these at-home activities.

You may have experienced what happens when you rub a balloon on your head, but static electricity does more than just make your hair stand up! Here is a safe static electricity experiment for some science-filled fun at home. 

Separating Salt and Pepper

For this activity, you will need:

  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper

Mix the salt and pepper in a pile. Then, quickly rub the balloon on your head and hold it close to the pile. Watch as the pepper jumps away from the salt! Rub the balloon for different lengths of time to hold different amounts of static to pick up more pepper.

step 1

What’s happening here?  

It’s not magic, it’s static electricity! Rubbing a balloon gives it a negative charge, also called static electricity. When the balloon gains enough static electricity, and it is brought near the mix of salt and pepper, the negative charge polarizes the salt and pepper. That is, it moves the electrons of the salt and pepper to one side, leaving one end positive and one end negative. The positive end is attracted to the negatively charged balloon, but because pepper is much lighter than salt, the pepper flakes will jump on the balloon, leaving the salt behind. 

Tips for Keeping Kids Safe Around Electricity

Keeping small children safe around electricity can seem daunting, but it’s not as difficult a task as it seems. Here are a few tips to make your home safer for your little ones.

  • Keep objects with cords away from areas with water
  • Secure your unused outlets with plastic inserts
  • Hide extension cords behind furniture
  • Set electrical devices (such as DVD players or radios) on out-of-reach shelves or behind barriers like doors in an entertainment center
  • Store kitchen appliances in cupboards, out of reach
  • Always dry your hands completely before handling anything powered by electricity
  • Educate kids about electricity in ways that are easy to understand. Explain to them the way that electricity runs through wires and powers the things in your home, and that it can flow through bodies and other materials that could cause shock or fire.

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Science Experiments

Separate Salt and Pepper Science Experiment

Ready, set, go! Can you separate salt and pepper once they’re mixed together? In this super simple science experiment you can!

We’ve included a demonstration video, printable instructions, and an easy to understand explanation of how it works below.

Let’s mix together some salt and pepper and then use science to separate them!

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

JUMP TO SECTION: Instructions | Video Tutorial | How it Works | Purchase Lab Kit

Supplies Needed

  • 2 Tablespoons of Table Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
  • Plastic Comb

Separate Salt & Pepper Lab Kit – Only $5

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

Use our easy Separate Salt & Pepper Science Lab Kit to grab your students’ attention without the stress of planning!

It’s everything you need to  make science easy for teachers and fun for students  — using inexpensive materials you probably already have in your storage closet!

Separate Sale and Pepper Science Experiment Instructions

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

Step 1 – Begin by adding 2 tablespoons of salt onto an empty plate.

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

Step 2 – Next, add 1 teaspoon of pepper to the salt and gently shake the plate to combine the salt and pepper.

Step 3 – Take a clean plastic comb and run it through your hair a few times. Then position the comb above the salt and pepper and watch what happens. Take a moment to write down your observations. 

Do you know what caused the pepper to jump onto the comb? Find out the answer in the how does this experiment work section below.

Video Tutorial

How Does the Science Experiment Work

Most objects do not have a positive or negative charge, they are neutral. Some objects, like hair combs, have the ability to become charged. At the beginning of the experiment, the comb has a neutral charge. When you run the comb through your hair, you give it an electrical charge. Running the comb through your hair allows electrons from your hair to move onto the comb. This gaining of electrons gives the comb an overall negative charge.

The pepper jumps to the comb for two reasons. The first reason is that grains of pepper are much lighter than grains of salt. If any salt does jump up to the comb, it will likely just fall back because it is too heavy. The second reason that pepper jumps to the comb is because of the idea that unlike electric charges attract. Remember the comb is negatively charged, so this negative charge attracts the positive charge in the grains of pepper. How does the pepper get a positive charge? Pepper polarizes easily, meaning the electrons move to one end of the pepper grain and the protons move to the other end. This leaves one end of the pepper grain with a negative charge and the other end with a positive charge. Salt does not polarize nearly as quickly as pepper.

The outcome of this experiment is a result of static electricity. Static electricity is a stationary (not moving) electric charge that is caused by friction. Lighting in the sky is a result of static electricity!

Other Ideas to Try

Try this experiment with other spices from your spice drawer! Try sugar, yeast, gelatin, garlic powder, garlic salt, lemon pepper seasoning, etc. and see what else is attracted to the negatively charged comb.

More Science Fun

Try your hand at these other experiments that involve static electricity:

  • Make Your Hair Stand on End
  • Static Flyer – The Flying Bag
  • Bending Water Experiment

I hope you enjoyed the experiment. Here are some printable instructions:

Separate Salt and Pepper Science Experiment

Instructions

  • Place 2 tablespoons of salt onto a empty plate.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of pepper to the salt and gently shake the plate to combine the salt and pepper.
  • Take a clean plastic comb and run it through your hair a few times.
  • Position the comb above the salt and pepper and watch what happens.

How to Separate Sale & Pepper Science Experiment Steps

Reader Interactions

' src=

August 17, 2016 at 5:05 am

Put mixture into water @ stir and wait salt to dissolve @ strain with coffee filter @ dry what remains on filter (pepper) @ Boil out water and enjoy pure salt.

' src=

December 31, 2016 at 4:35 am

hi, I am Deborah. This experiment is very cool. Thankyou .bye.

' src=

November 25, 2017 at 10:09 am

Can’t wait to show my 4th graders. Sounds like a cool experiment

' src=

September 9, 2018 at 8:15 am

Wow…I can’t wait to show it to my science teacher?cool

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February 4, 2020 at 9:50 pm

I just tried it with my sons & it was so cool to see their expressions!

' src=

January 4, 2023 at 2:30 am

I hope I win my science fair project.😀

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January 30, 2023 at 5:59 pm

I love the simplicity of your experiments and especially the way to explain the science behind them. Very helpful!

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salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

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Separate Salt and Pepper with Static Electricity

June 12, 2024 By Emma Vanstone Leave a Comment

Did you know you can separate salt and pepper with static electricity ? It works because pepper is lighter than salt, so while both salt and pepper are attracted to an object charged with static electricity, only the lighter pepper jumps up.

Static electricity is the build-up of electrical charge on the surface of an object. It is created when objects are rubbed together or pulled apart. Positive charges build up on the surface of one object, and negative charges on the other.

How to separate salt and pepper with static electricity

You’ll need.

Balloon/plastic spoon or PVC pipe

Wool clothing

balloon, wool blanket, plastic spoon, PVC pipe, salt and pepper for a kitchen science activity

Instructions

Mix a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl.

Blow up the balloon and rub it for about 30 seconds on a wool garment or your hair.

Hold the balloon over the bowl of salt and pepper. Only the pepper will jump up to the balloon. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear a cracking sound like static electricity!

The same happens when a PVC pipe or plastic spoon is charged with static electricity.

Ballon covered in pepper from a separating salt and pepper science activity

Why does static electricity separate salt and pepper?

When the plastic spoon or balloon is rubbed on the wool, it gains electrons, giving it an overall negative charge. This charge is what we call static electricity. When the charged balloon is placed near the salt and pepper, it polarises the salt and pepper, leaving one end positive and one end negative. The positive end is attracted to the negatively charged balloon and jumps up. Both salt and pepper are attracted to the balloon, but the lighter pepper jumps up more easily.

Extension Activities

Think about other ways to separate salt and pepper.

Mix a salt and pepper mixture with water. Salt dissolves in water, but pepper is insoluble and floats on the surface. Filter the water mixture to separate the pepper.

Salt is denser than pepper, so if you gently shake the mixture, the denser salt moves to the bottom.

separate salt and pepper with static electricity. Fun static electricity science experiment

Last Updated on June 13, 2024 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

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Separating a Mixture of Salt and Pepper

In this experiment, we will accomplish the seemingly impossible feat of separating salt from pepper after they have been mixed together.

  • Balloon (or another plastic object with large surface)
  • Hair or a sweater made of natural wool

Instructions The experiment can be viewed in the following video:

Explanation The materials we see in everyday life are all made up of molecules and atoms, where each atom is made up of negatively-charged electrons surrounding positively-charged protons that are in the center of the atom. Generally, materials we touch are electrically balanced, meaning that in total, the positive and negative charges balance each other out, so the material has no overall net charge.

Static electricity occurs when two materials, such as hair and plastic, are rubbed together, or repeatedly put together and separated. This movement "rips" electrons off one material and moves them to the other. This creates an electric charge in both materials – one receives extra electrons and becomes negatively charged, whereas the other loses electrons and thus is positively charged.

Opposing electric charges (plus and minus) attract each other, whereas identical charges (minus and minus, or plus and plus) repel each other. This fact explains why the hair is attracted to the balloon after rubbing – the balloon rips electrons from the hair. Rubber is generally negatively charged and attracts the now-positively-charged hair.

But why do small objects, that have no net electrical charge, like salt and pepper grains, attract to the balloon?

Well, this happens because they can be  electrically polarized . When you put an electrically charged rubber balloon next to another material, the other becomes electrically polarized. The electrons move according to the force applied by the charged balloon. If the balloon is negatively charged, the electrons in the material are repelled. The part closer to the balloon is slightly poorer in electrons and is slightly positively charged, although the total net charge of the material is still zero.

The result is that an electrical force will attract the balloon and the section of the material nearest to it. Both salt and pepper grains are attracted to the balloon, and the closer the balloon gets to the grain, the more strongly they are attracted to each other.

The force of gravity also play a part in determining which grains stick to the balloon and which stay on the plate. The mass of pepper grains is smaller than salt grains, so they are lighter and more likely to be attracted to the balloon at a large distance.

However, at a smaller distance, the electric force may be quite large, it could also attract the salt grains too. So if we want to get a good separation, it's important to find the exact distance where pepper sticks but salt doesn't.  

Additional Information There are many more fun experiments with balloons and static electricity. They can stick to a ceiling as if they were full of helium, force cans to roll and even divert streams of water.

Dr. Avi Saig Davidson Institute of Science Education Weizmann Institute of Science

Article translated from Hebrew by Aviv J. Sharon, M.Sc. student at the Weizmann Institute of Science.  

Note for Surfers If you find the explanations unclear or have further questions, please drop us a line on the forum. We welcome your comments, suggestions and feedback.

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

P l a y f u l P a r e n t i n g : Bringing Play to Every Day

salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

Three Fun Static Electricity Experiments to Do at Home

Experimenting with static electricity is a great way to introduce young kids to science and spark their curiosity to learn more. Here are three quick, hands-on experiments you can try at home. Each experiment takes only a few minutes and uses materials you probably already have at home.

What You’ll Need:

  • Salt and pepper
  • Small bowl or plate
  • Plastic spoon
  • Empty aluminum cans
  • Your own head of hair! (to generate a static charge)

What You’ll Do:

Experiment #1: Bend Water

  • Blow up a balloon and tie the end. Rub the balloon on your head until your hair sticks up to create a static charge.
  • Turn on the kitchen faucet to create a stream of water about the same thickness as a pencil.
  • Slowly bring the charged balloon up to the stream without touching it. The stream of water will bend as it flows around the balloon.

Experiment #2: Separate Pepper from Salt

  • In a small bowl, mix a good amount of salt and pepper together.
  • Rub a balloon on your head until your hair sticks up to create a static charge.
  • Slowly move the charged balloon over the salt and pepper mixture in the bowl. As the balloon gets closer to the mixture, the pepper will fly upward toward the balloon, separating from the salt.

Experiment #3: Can Races

  • Gather a few empty (and clean) aluminum cans.
  • Arrange the cans in a line on a hard, smooth floor.
  • Rub a balloon on your head to create a static charge.
  • Place the balloon behind each can to see it roll away by itself.
  • Set up a can race to see who can move their can the fastest using the power of static electricity.

How does the science work? Objects can become either positively or negatively charged through friction. In these experiments, the friction is created by rubbing a balloon on your head. Charged objects exert forces on each other that either attract or repulse.

What Kids Learn

  • Critical Thinking
  • Creative Thinking

How to Support the Play

  • Remember: There is often more than one “right way” of doing things.
  • If your kid asks for help, try and guide them without taking over. Nudge them along with suggestions framed as questions. “What would happen if…?”
  • Ask questions about why your child thinks the static electricity is affecting the water, pepper and cans.

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

Glue gun fun.

There’s no substitution for hands-on exploration. Letting kids (safely) experiment with real tools, such as a glue gun, provides opportunities to build confidence, independence, creative thinking skills and more.

Make Your Own Eyeball Wall at Home

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Get your kids excited about exploring music by making your own paper tube xylophone. Or, make a few and start your own xylophone band!

Build a Gnome Home

Spark your child’s imagination and creative thinking skills by building a whimsical gnome home. Make a single home or an entire village.

Kids love playing with water. But it's not just about the fun of splashing around and getting wet. Kids experiment, explore and discover while playing with water — Does this object float or sink? How does water flow through this funnel? What happens if I fill a cup...

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

Have an empty milk carton on hand? Spark some creativity and fun – and put it to good use – by creating a DIY bird feeder.

Lava Lamp Experiment

Making temporary lava lamps is a fun, colorful and easy science experiment sure to keep your kids engaged.

DIY Kinetic Sand

Kinetic sand is an easy project that allows kids to explore their senses, build fine motor skills and strengthen their imaginative play muscles.

Take Things Apart

Explore the inner workings of old machines. For Ages: 6 and up

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Why small particles are attracted by charged objects?

Everyone knows this experiment: You mix salt and pepper and use a charged balloon to separate the pepper from the salt.

I never really understood how this works. In school (long time ago) we learned that unlike charges attract each other while like charges distract each other. In the experiment the negatively charged balloon attracts the pepper. Does this mean the pepper has a positive charge?

Why is pepper charged? How can I predict for given particle if the balloon will attract, distract or not interact with it?

  • electrostatics
  • electricity
  • experimental-physics

Qmechanic's user avatar

Promoted from a comment that should have been posted as an answer:

No, it is about mass to surface area ratio. The charged balloon induces polarisation on the salt and the pepper, but the salt is too heavy for this tiny separation, and thus tiny attractive force, to overcome weight, whereas the pepper is light enough for that to happen. The salt, being made of ionic bonds, is properly stronger polarised than the pepper, but the density difference is big enough. Note that neither salt nor pepper become charged; it is just that the charges separated in position just a little, so that the closer one is attracted more than the farther one is repelled.
  • $\begingroup$ The pepper and the salt ions feel the same gravitational acceleration. $\endgroup$ –  Cerise Commented Oct 18, 2023 at 6:04
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks a lot for this answer, very good explanation. $\endgroup$ –  flappix Commented Oct 18, 2023 at 19:00

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salt pepper balloon experiment explanation

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Want to contribute?

Separate salt and pepper.

To demonstrate how static electricity can be used to separate pepper from a salt and pepper mix.

Additional information

All matter is made up of tiny atoms, which in turn are made of even smaller parts called protons, electrons and neutrons. While protons have a positive (+) charge, electrons have a negative (-) charge and neutrons have no charge at all. Usually, atoms have the same number of electrons and protons making them devoid of any charge or ‘neutral.’

Sponsored Links

Required materials.

  • Cloth or material that can create a strong static charge, preferably wool.
  • Inflated balloon (optional)

Estimated Experiment Time

Less than 5 minutes

Step-By-Step Procedure

  • 1. Shake some salt onto a flat surface with a table cloth.
  • 2. Shake some pepper over the salt.
  • 3. Mix the salt and pepper together with your fingertips until there is an even mixture of salt and pepper.
  • 4. Set your comb with a static charge by rubbing it against some cloth or your inflated balloon (if you have one).
  • 5. With your comb charged slowly lower it above the salt and pepper mixture, teeth side down until it's about 1 inch away.
  • 6. Like magic the pepper particles separate from the salt particles and cling to the comb!

Be careful not to get salt or pepper in your eyes. You may want to wear safety goggles to ensure 100% eye protection.

Observation

What would happen if you were to charge the balloon against the wool or cloth and then use that in place of the comb? What would happen if you quickly moved the balloon over the mixture? What if you got really close to the mixture?

When the comb is rubbed against the cloth or balloon, it becomes negatively charged. The salt and pepper are both positively charged, which means they will form a natural attraction to the static from the comb. When the comb is slowly placed above the mixture, the pepper particles fly up and attract. Why do the pepper particles attract while the salt doesn't? Pepper particles are much lighter than the salt, so they're quicker to attract to the comb. If you were to bring the comb closer to the mixture, the heavier salt would eventually cling to it as well.

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The Happy Scientist

The Happy Scientist

Error message, sorting salt and pepper, how many ways.

In the Sorting Salt and Pepper video we saw that we could mix salt and pepper into a pile and then separate them easily by using the static charge on a balloon. That is one way to separate salt and pepper, but there are many others. How many can you think of? Don't read any more until you have spent some time thinking of as many different ways as you can.

We start with a pile of mixed salt and pepper. How are we going to sort them out? Well, start by thinking about how salt and pepper are different. Think about how you could use those differences to separate the two materials. How many different ways can you think of? Take some time, and really think about it before you go on. Make a list, and then compare it with the answers below. If you thought of one that I missed, let me know.

After you give it some thought, here are some answers.

The first difference that many people noticed was that salt will dissolve in water, but pepper will not. Quite a few of you suggested putting the salt and pepper in water. The pepper floats on the surface, while the salt sinks to the bottom and then dissolves. You can then evaporate the water to recover the salt. Carolyn not only tried that, she sent me some wonderful photos of her experiment. Jeffrey suggested adding a drop of dish detergent to get the pepper to rush to the side of the bowl, making it easier to collect.

Another difference is their density. The grains of salt are heavier than the flakes of pepper. We used that with the static charge on the balloon, attracting the lighter pepper flakes. Other ideas on using density included:

1. Either coating the salt or using a liquid that the salt would not dissolve in, such as oil. The salt sinks and the pepper floats.

2. Blowing or using the wind to blow the lighter pepper away from the heavier salt.

3. Taping or shaking the mixture, so the denser salt settles to the bottom, leaving the pepper on top.

4. Placing the mixture on an incline and vibrating it. The denser salt will move downwards faster.

5. Throwing the mixture across a long sheet of newspaper. The air resistance will stop the pepper quickly, while the heavier salt will fall on the other side of the paper.

6. Dropping or throwing the mixture onto a piece of paper, the denser salt will bounce more, leaving a pile of pepper with salt around it.

7. Use other sources of static charges, such as cellophane tape or a plastic comb to attract the lighter pepper.

The salt and pepper also have different sizes and shapes, which lead to more idea.

1. Using a screen or sieve to let the smaller pepper flakes fall through, while the larger salt grains are trapped.

2. Rod came up with a great idea of placing the mixture between two panes of glass. With a little pressure, the salt grains are held in place, but flat flakes of pepper fall out.

You can also use adhesion. As we saw in the Spoon on Your Nose video , adhesion can cause materials to stick to some things, but not to others. Pepper sticks to most cling wraps, but the salt usually does not.

All the entries boiled down into these eleven basic ideas, but I am certain that there are more. If you think of more, let me know. I am delighted that so many of you put on your thinking caps and sent in your ideas. My goal is to get people thinking about science, and actually playing with it themselves. This challenge seems to have done that, so look forward to more of them in the near future.

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Science Fun

Science Fun

Jumping Pepper Electricity Science Experiment

In this fun and easy science experiment for kids we are going to explore static electricity and use it to make pepper appear to jump. 

  • Plastic hair comb

Instructions:

  • Add some salt and pepper to  the plate and stir them together. Use equals parts salt and pepper.
  • Now take the comb and run it through your hair. The person doing the demonstration must be the one that keeps holding onto the comb.
  • Hold the statically charged comb over the bowl and watch the pepper jump. If you get too close, the salt may jump also so play with the distance to get it right.

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How it Works:

As the plastic comb moves through hair, it builds up a negative charge. Things that have a negative charge attract things that have a positive charge. While both the salt and pepper have a positive charge, the pepper is lighter and thus moves more easily and appears to “jump” and separate from the salt. 

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Try different items like sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and various spices. Are you able to negatively charge other items like a balloon, plastic utensil, etc. Test to see if the experiment will still work if the items are put in water.

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Separate salt and pepper with static electricity.

Second Grade Science Activities: Separate Salt and Pepper With Static Electricity

What's the quickest way to separate salt and pepper? Let static electricity do the work! One of the classic static electricity experiments for kids, this salt and pepper separation demonstration will fascinate your child. Even better, everything you need can probably be found in your kitchen.

What You Need:

  • Plastic spoon
  • Wool cloth or clothing

What You Do:

  • Help your child measure about a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Then, have her use the spoon to mix them together as well as she can.
  • Ask her what she thinks is the best way to separate the salt from the pepper. Can she think of a way to separate them using only the spoon?
  • Have her rub the plastic spoon on a piece of wool cloth. Tell her that as she rubs the spoon, she's giving the plastic spoon a negative charge. Something that's negatively charged will attract the positive particles in different objects.
  • Have her hold the spoon about an inch above the pile of salt and pepper. Both salt and pepper will be attracted to the spoon, but pepper is lighter, so if she holds the spoon in the right place, the pepper should jump up and cling to the spoon!

For another fun experiment with static electricity check out this magic balloon experiment .

Related learning resources

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COMMENTS

  1. Static Electricity Balloon and Salt and Pepper Experiment

    Step-4: Add Pepper into the salt. Measure the same quantity of ground pepper and put it into the plate. Now mix both the ingredients. No wonder, kids are very much interested in mixing any kind of things. My kids are also excited to mix salt and pepper. Step-5: Rub your balloon with a woollen cloth.

  2. Separating Salt & Pepper with Balloons

    Colored notebook. Procedure. Place the colored notebook on a flat surface. Pour out a mixture of salt and pepper with an arbitrary amount of each condiment onto the center of the notebook. Blow up the balloon. Aggressively rub the balloon for 1 minute on your head. Place the balloon over the mixture of salt and pepper and observe what happens.

  3. Experiment with Static Electricity

    For this activity, you will need: 1 teaspoon of salt. 1 teaspoon of pepper. 1 balloon. Mix the salt and pepper in a pile. Then, quickly rub the balloon on your head and hold it close to the pile. Watch as the pepper jumps away from the salt! Rub the balloon for different lengths of time to hold different amounts of static to pick up more pepper.

  4. PDF LESSON 27: Separating Salt & Pepper

    Salt. Pepper. Beakers, glass jars, or plates. A miscellaneous assortment of items for separating the mixture (spoons, paper towels, tweezers, straws, balloons, magnifying glasses, water, etc.) Always remember to use the appropriate safety equipment when conducting your experiment.

  5. Salt and Pepper Static Electricity Experiment

    Hello Scholars! Today we will be experimenting with static electricity more.Materials:- Salt- Pepper- Plate- BalloonQuestions:- Why did some salt come up?- W...

  6. Separate Salt and Pepper Science Experiment

    Separate Sale and Pepper Science Experiment Instructions. Step 1 - Begin by adding 2 tablespoons of salt onto an empty plate. Step 2 - Next, add 1 teaspoon of pepper to the salt and gently shake the plate to combine the salt and pepper. Step 3 - Take a clean plastic comb and run it through your hair a few times.

  7. Separate Salt and Pepper with Static Electricity

    Instructions. Mix a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl. Blow up the balloon and rub it for about 30 seconds on a wool garment or your hair. Hold the balloon over the bowl of salt and pepper. Only the pepper will jump up to the balloon. If you listen carefully, you'll hear a cracking sound like static electricity!

  8. Separate Salt and Pepper with Static Electricity

    Separate Salt and Pepper with Static Electricity • The Science Kiddo. Using a magic spoon to separate salt and pepper with static electricity is a quick and easy science experiment. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten!

  9. Salt and Pepper Static Electricity Experiment

    1. Shake some salt and pepper in a small dish (most likely your child will want to do this). 2. Stir the salt and pepper together. 3. Ask your child if he/she can think of a way to separate pepper from salt WITHOUT using his/her hands (most likely met with puzzled looks). 4. Blow up a small balloon. 5.

  10. Separating a Mixture of Salt and Pepper

    In this experiment, we will accomplish the seemingly impossible feat of separating salt from pepper after they have been mixed together. Equipment. Salt; Pepper; Plate; Balloon (or another plastic object with large surface) Hair or a sweater made of natural wool; Instructions The experiment can be viewed in the following video:

  11. Three Fun Static Electricity Experiments to Do at Home

    Slowly move the charged balloon over the salt and pepper mixture in the bowl. As the balloon gets closer to the mixture, the pepper will fly upward toward the balloon, separating from the salt. Experiment #3: Can Races. Gather a few empty (and clean) aluminum cans. Arrange the cans in a line on a hard, smooth floor.

  12. Static Electricity Experiment With A Balloon Salt and Pepper

    Kendall tries a static electricity experiment using a balloon, salt, and pepper. Static electricity is easy to make using a balloon and rubbing it on hair. F...

  13. PDF Separate Salt and Pepper with Static Electricity

    experiment. They will appreciate the properties of static electricity and its effects. Materials: Salt Pepper Plastic Spoon Wool cloth or clothing Safety: No eating or drinking is allowed during the activity. Procedure: 1. Measure about a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper, then use the spoon to mix

  14. Separating salt and pepper with a balloon

    Shubhang demonstrates the power of electricity by using a balloon to separate a mixture of salt and pepper.

  15. Why small particles are attracted by charged objects?

    Everyone knows this experiment: You mix salt and pepper and use a charged balloon to separate the pepper from the salt. I never really understood how this works. In school (long time ago) we learned that unlike charges attract each other while like charges distract each other. In the experiment the negatively charged balloon attracts the pepper.

  16. Lesson

    Salt; Pepper; Procedure. Blow up two balloons. Rub each balloon on your hair, a carpet, or with a piece of wool for about 30 to 45 seconds. Sprinkle some salt onto a plate or tabletop. Bring the charged balloon near the salt. What happened? Why? Now, sprinkle some pepper onto the table so that you have a mixture of salt and pepper.

  17. PDF Inquiry Question Can you make pepper magically stick to a balloon?

    experiment works best on a dry day or in a dry environment.Steps:- Pour abou. teaspoon of salt and about a teaspoon. pepper onto the plate. - Then, blow up the ballo. and tie it. - Next, rub the balloon on your hair to charge it. - Hold the b. bove the plate and then observe what happens. Project SubmissionYou can either submit photos/video of ...

  18. Separating pepper from salt using a balloon

    Simple experiment to try it out today! Comment to let us know how your experiment went! Science decode: Rubbing the balloon surface with the cloth caused the...

  19. Separate Salt And Pepper

    1. Shake some salt onto a flat surface with a table cloth. 2. Shake some pepper over the salt. 3. Mix the salt and pepper together with your fingertips until there is an even mixture of salt and pepper. 4. Set your comb with a static charge by rubbing it against some cloth or your inflated balloon (if you have one). 5.

  20. Sorting Salt and Pepper, How Many Ways?

    We used that with the static charge on the balloon, attracting the lighter pepper flakes. Other ideas on using density included: 1. Either coating the salt or using a liquid that the salt would not dissolve in, such as oil. The salt sinks and the pepper floats. 2. Blowing or using the wind to blow the lighter pepper away from the heavier salt. 3.

  21. Jumping Pepper Electricity Science Experiment

    Add some salt and pepper to the plate and stir them together. Use equals parts salt and pepper. Now take the comb and run it through your hair. The person doing the demonstration must be the one that keeps holding onto the comb. Hold the statically charged comb over the bowl and watch the pepper jump. If you get too close, the salt may jump ...

  22. Separate Salt and Pepper

    Have her hold the spoon about an inch above the pile of salt and pepper. Both salt and pepper will be attracted to the spoon, but pepper is lighter, so if she holds the spoon in the right place, the pepper should jump up and cling to the spoon! For another fun experiment with static electricity check out this magic balloon experiment.

  23. Jumping Pepper Science Experiment (Physics)

    Try this simple balloon static electricity experiment. Make the positively charged pepper jump to a balloon by adding negative electrons to the balloon. ️ Ge...