Why is Water Called H2O?

Water is important. You need to drink some every day. We use it to wash things like our clothes, our cars, and our faces. We use it to cook our food. Rain is water that keeps the plants on Earth alive. The oceans are full of it! 
But have you ever wondered why they call it H₂O? Water is composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Pretty funny, right? Atoms are the tiny particles that make up everything. If you haven’t learned about them yet that’s ok. You’ll get around to it sooner or later. Scientist say when the atoms they join together they almost look like Mickey Mouse!

Hydrogen is a very flammable gas. It’s the lightest gas in the universe. It is used to launch rockets into space. It can even be used as fuel for cars! Oxygen is the stuff we breathe in that keeps us alive. Plants help make the oxygen for us. If you put hydrogen and oxygen together and light a match, you get a loud explosion. But when you combine them, in the right way, it makes the liquid we call water.  Pretty amazing, right?

In my lab I have a really cool piece of equipment called a fuel cell. It can make electricity from hydrogen and oxygen without it burning. Astronauts actually use fuel cells in space.
Here is a picture of my fuel cell. This time I’m not going to make electricity. I’m going to reverse it, and split the water molecules apart. This will make Hydrogen and oxygen. I can collect the gases in syringes so you can see how much I collect. Since there is twice (2 times) as much hydrogen as there is oxygen, the syringe with the hydrogen will be twice as full. 

Here’s a picture of Papaw and the finished experiment. Doesn’t Papaw look handsome in his safety glasses and lab coat?

If you would like to learn more about fuel cells, here’s a web site where you can start.

https://www.eia.gov/kids/energy-sources/hydrogen/#:~:text=Hydrogen%20fuel%20cells%20produce%20electricity%20by%20combining%20hydrogen%20and%20oxygen,connected%20to%20electric%20power%20lines.

Well, that’s all for this week. Be sure to drink enough water today. (And don’t leave your glasses water bottles lying around. Be Mom’s helper and keep things cleaned up!)

Love You!

Papaw.