Elephant toothpaste

1.The first step is to put on your safety glasses. Since 30% hydrogen peroxide will burn if it comes in
contact with your skin, its best to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands.

2.Fill the beaker with 4 ounces (thats approximately 120 mL) of room temperature water. Add about
a tablespoon of sodium iodide crystals to the water and stir with a spoon until all of the crystals have
dissolved. Repeat this several times until the crystals no longer dissolve in the water. When this
happens, you have what is called a saturated solution.

3.Cover the table with the plastic tarp to make cleanup easy at the end of the demonstration.

4.Measure 2 ounces (thats 60 mL) of the 30% hydrogen peroxide into the graduated cylinder.
Position the graduated cylinder in the middle of the plastic tarp.

5.Add a squirt (thats a very technical term meaning about 5 milliliters) of dish soap to the graduated
cylinder containing the 30% hydrogen peroxide.

6.Add a huge squirt of your favorite food coloring to spice things up. Give the solution a quick swirl to
mix the contents.

7.The last step is to pour a tablespoon (thats about 15 milliliters) of the sodium iodide catalyst into
the graduated cylinder and to quickly stand back. Within seconds, the reaction will occur .

A mountain of erupting foam will cover the table.

HOW DOES IT WORK

H2O2 is the scientific name for hydrogen peroxide, which is made up of two hydrogen atoms and two
oxygen atoms. H2O2 looks like ordinary water (H2O), but the addition of that extra oxygen atom turns
the molecule into an extremely powerful oxidizer. The hydrogen peroxide used in this demonstration
is ten times stronger than the over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide you can find at the store. Low-
grade hydrogen peroxide (3%) will not produce the massive amount of foam seen in this version of
the Exploding Toothpaste demonstration. The secret ingredient is actually sodium iodide, which acts
as a catalyst(something that speeds up a chemical reaction, and in this case, its the decomposition
of hydrogen peroxide). When hydrogen peroxide (H 2O2) decomposes, it breaks down to form water
(H2O) and oxygen (O2). The soap bubbles that erupt from the cylinder are actually filled with oxygen.
Youll notice that the foam has a brown tint. This color is due to the presence of free iodine produced
by the extreme oxidizing power of the 30% hydrogen peroxide. As the reaction takes place, youll also
see steam rising from the erupting foam. This shows that the reaction is exothermic, meaning that it
gives off heat.
Hydrogen peroxide (30% strength) will act as an oxidizing agent with practically any substance.
Sodium iodide is slightly toxic by ingestion.
 1. Darken the room. Hold the fluorescent bulb in one hand and the balloon in the other. Rub
the balloon vigorously on your hair (or on a wool sweater).

2. Bring the balloon near the bulb and watch what happens. Was that a flicker of light? Did the
bulb really light up?

3. Move the balloon up and down the bulb without touching the bulb. The light should sort of
follow the balloon.

4. Touch the balloon to the glass and see if you can get a spark to jump.

5. You can't believe your eyes so, go back to step 1 and do it again.

How does it work.

Electrons are relatively free to jump from one atom to the next, and they're attracted to some
materials more than others. When you rub a balloon on your hair (or the sweater), electrons from
your hair (or the sweater) jump over to the balloon and stay there. The inside of a fluorescent tube is
coated with a white material made up of phosphors. If you bombard phosphors with ultraviolet light,
they re-emit visible light. In normal operation, the fluorescent tube is connected to a source of
electrical current. The current supplies electrons that slam around inside the tube. Inside the tube
there is also mercury vapor. When electrons collide with the mercury vapor, they cause the vapor to
emit ultraviolet light, which hits the phosphors and the tube lights up. Bringing a negatively charged
balloon near a fluorescent tube stirs up the electrons in the mercury vapor. This produces an
electrical current, which excites the mercury atoms. The excited mercury atoms emit ultraviolet light
and cause the phosphors to glow. When a spark jumps, you get a big release of energy and a
correspondingly brighter glow.
Exploding sandwich bag

How to do make it?

1. Go outside or at least do this in the kitchen sink.

2. Put 1/4 cup of pretty warm water into the bag.

3. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water in the bag.

4. Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue

5. Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it.

6. You will have to work fast now partially zip the bag closed but leave enough space to add
the baking soda packet. Put the tissue with the baking soda into the bag and quickly zip the
bag completely closed.

7. 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 wellPOP!

How does it work

Sure, bubbling liquids and popping bags are fun, but whats the science behind the exploding
sandwich bag? When you mix vinegar and baking soda, a chemical reaction takes place producing
a gas called carbon dioxide.
The reaction that happens from mixing vinegar and baking soda is caused by the chemical reaction
between the acetic acid (CH3COOH) in vinegar and the sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3) in baking
soda. This reaction forms sodium acetate (NaCH3COO), water (H2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2).

The chemical equation is as follows:

CH3COOH + NaHCO3 -> NaCH3COO + H2O + CO2

The bag puffs up because the CO2 takes up lots of space, eventually filling the bag. If theres more
gas than the bag can hold . . . KABOOM! If youre lucky, the zipper-lock seal will bust open, but
the bag will not break. Now you can reuse the bag to make another CO 2 sandwich. Separating the
substances in bags is a clever way of slowing down the reaction.TAKE
T Termite reaction

HOW DOES IT WORK

A thermite reaction is an exothermic oxidation-reduction reaction similar to the ignition of black

powder. The reaction requires a metal oxide and fuel. The fuel in the thermite reaction you produce
is aluminum in the foil. Your metal oxide is iron oxide, more commonly known as rust.

Knocking the ball bearings together creates a small area of heat. This heat, combined with the
aluminum and iron oxide, produces aluminum oxide, elemental iron, and a large amount of heat and
light. This heat is so extreme that thermite reactions can be used to weld other metals together,
similar to the process of creating railroad tracks.

EXPERIMENT

1Wrap a rusted steel ball bearing completely with a sheet of aluminum foil.

2Strike the foil-covered ball bearing with a second rusted steel ball bearing.

3After striking one spot, youll need to rotate the foil-covered ball bearing to strike another position.