1. Colegio San Patricio
Science Fair 2007
Splitting Water
Team Members: Teacher: Ms. Mary Padilla
Diana Chapa
Rolando Grade: 7”G”
Alejandro Robles
Project Description: Can water be split into oxygen and hydrogen?
Project Hypothesis: We think that water can be split into hydrogen and
oxygen with the use of a battery and pencils.
Project Area: Chemistry
Project Type: Investigation and experiment
Abstract
Electrolysis is made when certain chemicals react together. If an
electrical current is passed through water between electrodes the water is
split into its two parts: oxygen and hydrogen. The purpose of our
experiment is to create electrolysis by connecting two pencils that are in a
glass of water to a nine-volt battery. We observed that bubbles were
produced at the tips of the pencils, so the water was being split into
oxygen and hydrogen. We also observed that one of the pencil tips
produced more bubbles than the other. This is because in water for every
oxygen atom there are two hydrogen atoms.