Elephant’s Toothpaste Chemistry | 20 minutes In this activity, students will use chemical reactions to create toothpaste big enough for an elephant! (It’s not really toothpaste, so please don’t eat it.) Materials Needed Per Group (1­3 students): ●
16 oz. empty plastic soda bottle (preferably with narrow neck) ●
½ cup hydrogen peroxide (higher concentrations produce more foam) ●
Squirt of Dawn dish detergent ●
3­4 drops food coloring ●
1 tsp yeast ●
2 Tbsp hot/very warm water ●
Funnel ●
Foil cake pan with 2 inch sides Optional (One per Student): ●
Lab smock or apron (Some food coloring stains clothes) Steps: 1. Have kids don lab smocks. (If applicable) 2. Dissolve yeast in very warm water. 3. Place bottle in foil pan. 4. Using the funnel, ​carefully​ add hydrogen peroxide to the bottle. 5. Add 3­4 drops of food coloring to the bottle. 6. Squirt some dish detergent into the bottle. 7. Add the dissolved yeast and quickly remove the funnel. 8. Observe what happens, visually and by touching the bottle. Explanation: The hydrogen peroxide we used is fizzing with bubbles. Just like soda, if you leave it out for long enough, it goes “flat.” When this happens, the peroxide is letting go of one of its oxygen ​
molecules, turning it into water. The yeast in the solution acts as a ​catalyst. That means it is something that makes the chemical reaction occur faster. That makes the peroxide molecule (in the hydrogen peroxide) release the oxygen atom faster. We call this an exothermic reaction, which means it makes heat. That’s why the bottle feels warm. Real Life: One example of a common catalyst is found in cars. The nasty black smoke that comes from cars is called exhaust and it is really bad for the environment. Scientists realized this a while ago and created a catalytic converter as a solution. This converter uses a catalyst to break down some of the harmful chemicals so the exhaust isn’t as gross. Exploding Baggies Chemistry | 20­30 minutes With this activity, students will use just a few ingredients to create an awesome chemical reaction explosion! ​This activity makes a mess so do it outside
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. Materials Needed Per Student: ● 1 sandwich sized zip­top bag (freezer bag works best) ● ¼ cup warm water ● ½ cup vinegar ● 3 Tbsp baking soda ● 1 tissue A Few Per Group: ● ¼ cup measuring cup ● ½ cup measuring cup ● 1 Tbsp measuring spoon Optional: ● Extra bags of various sizes Steps: 1.
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Go outside. Put 1/4 cup of warm water into the bag. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water in the bag. Seal bag and set aside. Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue. Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it. Open up the bag. You will have to work fast now – partially zip the bag closed but leave enough space to add the baking soda packet. 9. Put the tissue with the baking soda into the bag and quickly zip the bag completely closed. 10. Put the bag in the sink or down on the ground (outside) and step back. The bag will start to expand, and expand, and if all goes well…POP! Explanation: Inside the bag, the baking soda and the vinegar eventually mix (the tissue buys you some time to zip the bag shut). When they do mix, you create what is called an ​
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ACID­BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas (carbon dioxide – the stuff we breathe out). Well gasses take up a lot of space and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bag. It keeps filling the bag until the bag can no longer hold it any more. POP! Real World: Acid­base reactions happen every day. Sometimes they make things explode, but sometimes they help to make something delicious! For example, when you make a cake or a quick bread, baking soda and an acidic ingredient (like buttermilk) create an acid­base reaction. When the gas is formed in the cake batter, it makes little bubbles that make the cake rise. It may not explode, but it’s still pretty great! Optional: Try it! Redo the experiment with cold water. Does anything change? What happens if you add less baking soda? More baking soda? How about vinegar? Is anything different if you use different sized bags? Hot Chocolate Science Chemistry | 10­15 minutes In this experiment, students will investigate the best water temperature to make hot chocolate. Best part of this activity? You can taste it! Materials Needed Per student: ●
2 mugs or paper hot cups ●
A few spoonfuls of hot chocolate mix ●
1 spoon ●
Cold water (Enough to fill up half of the cup) ●
Hot water (Enough to fill up half of the cup) ●
1 copy of printout to record results (½ page) Steps: 1. Ask the students to make a prediction­ what temperature of water will dissolve hot chocolate mix faster? Have them choose between hot and cold. Write the prediction down on the printout. 2. Have students put one spoonful of hot chocolate mix in each of the cups. 3. Pour cold water to fill up ½ of one of the two cups and have the student count out loud while stirring. 4. When the powder dissolves, have the student write down what number they counted to. 5. Do the same carefully using hot water (heated and poured by an adult). 6. Time it, and log the time it takes to dissolve. 7. Compare the results to the initial prediction. 8. Have students talk to each other and try to figure out what happened. ­
Why did the hot water dissolve faster? Explanation: Hot water has more energy in it than cold water does. That means that the molecules in the water move faster. The molecules attack and break down the powder faster in hot water than cold. Real World: How much more real world can this get? Who wants to drink a cold cup of wet powder? Printout is on the next page. Hot Chocolate Science!
Hot Chocolate Science!
Ice Cream Chemistry | 20­30 min. In this activity, kids learn about freezing, liquid properties, and treats! Materials Needed Per Student: ● ⅓ cup half and half ● ½ tsp vanilla extract ● 1 Tbsp sugar ● 1 sandwich sized zip­top bag ● 1 spoon Per Two Students: ● 2 gallon sized zip­top bags ● 6­8 cups of ice ● ½ cup salt A Few Per Group: ● ⅓ cup measuring cup ● ½ cup measuring cup ● ½ tsp measuring spoon ● 1 Tbsp measuring spoon Optional: ● Flavored syrup ● Sprinkles ● Chocolate chips ● Other ice cream mix­ins Steps: 1.
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Partner up the students Have each student write his or her name on a sandwich bag. Have each pair write “Salt” on one gallon bag and “No Salt” on the other In the sandwich bags, have each partner combine… ● ⅓ cup half and half ● 1 tsp vanilla extract ● 1 Tbsp sugar ● Any extra mix­ins 5. Seal bags and set aside. 6. Have each pair put 3­4 cups of ice and ½ cup salt in one of the gallon bags. 7. Have each pair put 3­4 cups of ice without salt in the other gallon bag. 8. Put one prepared sandwich bag in each gallon bag. 9. Have each student shake one of the plastic bags for 5 min. 10. After 5 min. of shaking, have students remove the two sandwich bags and observe the differences. ● Does one feel colder than the other? ● Do the ice cubes in one bag look different than the others? ● The sandwich bag in the bag with salt should be closer to frozen than the other. 11. If either bag looks ready to eat, enjoy! If they need a little more freezing time, place them in the bag WITH ice and shake until delicious. Explanation: Salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes (freezing point). That means that ice can turn to water without getting warmer! Real World: The saltwater oceans don’t freeze very easily. When it gets really cold outside, ponds, lakes, and puddles freeze over, but it has to get really REALLY cold before the ocean will. That’s because the same thing is happening in the water as it did in our ice cream bags! Rainbow Milk Chemistry | 10­15 minutes In this activity, students will explore what happens when you mix soap, milk, and art! Materials Needed per one or two students: ●
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Milk (2% or whole milk) Dinner plate (Plastic works) Multiple liquid food colors Liquid dishwashing soap Cotton swabs Steps: 1. Cover the bottom of the dinner plate with about ¼” milk. 2. Add one drop of each color of food coloring in separate spots close together near the center of the plate. 3. Predict what will happen if you touch the center of the milk with a clean cotton swab, then try it and see what happens. 4. Place a drop of dishwashing soap on the other end of the cotton swab. 5. Touch the soapy end of the cotton swab into the center of the milk for ten to fifteen seconds. Observe what happens. 6. Add another drop of soap to the cotton swab and touch the center again. Experiment by touching different places in the milk. Watch what happens when you touch the milk and when you remove the cotton swab. Explanation: Milk is mostly water, but it’s also partly fat. The fat is a ​
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non­polar molecule, which means that it doesn't dissolve in water. The soap also has molecules that are non­polar called ​
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micelles. When the soap is added into the milk, the micelles whirl, twirl, and swirl around to collect the fat. When the micelles pick up the fat, the polar water can then carry it away. All of that movement creates the colorful bursts we see. Try it! What happens when you pull the swab out of the milk? What about if you touch it in different spots? What happens when you add more soap? Real World: This is the same science that happens when you wash your hands with soap. The soap grabs onto the muck on your hands and the water carries it away!