Chemical / Physical Change Experiments
Elephant Toothpaste (Chemical Change – TEACHER ASSISTED)
Materials:
- safety glasses
- plastic bottle (bottles with small openings work best)
- funnel that fits inside the plastic bottle top
- aluminum cake pan to contain the mess
- food coloring
- squirt of dawn dish soap
- hydrogen peroxide - the stronger the peroxide, the better the result
**stronger peroxide can be found at a beauty supply store in the hair dye section
- 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in approximately 2 tablespoons warm, not boiling, water (if the water is too warm, the yeast will not react)
Experiment Procedures:
1. Put on their safety glasses.
2. Stand the bottle up in the center of the cake pan. Put the funnel in the opening. Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to the peroxide and pour the peroxide through the funnel into the bottle.
3. Add a squirt of Dawn detergent to the peroxide in the bottle.
4. Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and quickly remove the funnel. (The reaction should be immediate.)
5. The students can touch the bottle and the substance created to feel any changes that take place.
Chemical / Physical Change Experiments
Making Polyurethane (Chemical Change – TEACHER ASSISTED)
Materials:
- Safety glasses
- Order the Polyurethane Foam System from Flinn Science
http://www.flinnsci.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=18034
- Solution A (yellowish color)
- Solution B (brownish color)
- food coloring
- clear plastic cup
- plastic knife to stir with
Experiment Procedures:
1. Pour Solution A into a clear cup. Fill to about 1/4 of the cup.
2. Pour Solution B into the clear cup that you poured solution B in. Fill to about half of the cup (this includes the amount from solution A that is already in the cup).
3. Put 3 drops of your choice of food color into the cup with Solution A and B.
4. Stir together until you see the solutions make foam. Once it starts to rise, stop stirring, set the cup down, and observe what happens.
5. DO NOT TOUCH the substance that you are stirring! It is not going to hurt you, but it is extremely sticky until it hardens.
Chemical / Physical Change Experiments
Melting Chocolate or Candle Wax
Materials:
- portable burner
- aluminum pie plate
- cupcake wrapper
- oven mitt
- 1 piece of chocolate or candle wax
Experiment Procedures:
1. Put the piece of chocolate in a cupcake wrapper and then place the cupcake wrapper in the aluminum pie plate.
2. Place the pie plate on the burner and observe what happens to the chocolate or candle wax while it is heating.
3. After the chocolate melts, use the oven mitt to take the pie plate off the burner.
4. Let the chocolate or candle wax sit after it melts and observe what happens after about five minutes.
***CAUTION: DO NOT TOUCH THE BURNER!!!!!!!!!!
Chemical / Physical Change Experiments
Exploding Soap
Materials:
- microwave
- Ivory soap cubes
- paper plate
Experiment Procedures:
1. Get a paper plate with a small piece of Ivory soap.
2. Place the paper plate in the microwave.
3. Turn the microwave on for 30 seconds to1 minute ONLY!!
4. Watch the soap while it is cooking in the microwave.
5. When the microwave has gone off, open the door to look at the soap’s new shape. Pull the plate out of the microwave, but do not touch the soap immediately because it will be hot.
6. After the soap has had time to cool, feel the soap try and wash your hands with it in the bucket at the table. Dry your hands on the towel.
Chemical / Physical Change Experiments
Mixing Vinegar and Baking Soda
Materials:
- cleaned water bottle
- balloon
- baking soda
- vinegar
- 2 funnels
- teaspoon measuring spoon
- measuring cup
Experiment Procedures:
1. Put the funnel into balloon’s opening.
2. Put about one tablespoon of baking soda into the funnel. The baking soda should drop into the balloon. Once the baking soda is in the balloon, put the funnel in the baking soda box to keep it separated from the wet funnel.
3. Measure out ½ cup of vinegar.
4. Use the OTHER funnel to pour the vinegar into the water bottle.
5. WITHOUT dumping the baking soda in the bottle, stretch the opening of the balloon over the opening of the beaker.
6. Once the balloon is firmly on the bottle, hold the balloon up so that all of the baking soda will pour into the bottle.
7. Observe what happens and be sure to touch the bottle and balloon to feel the temperature change.
8. Clean up your area: slowly peel back the balloon from the bottle, and slowly let the gas out facing away from you and others. Throw the balloon into the trash can. Dump the liquids in the bottle into the sink and put the bottle back where you found it with the wet funnel in it. Place a new balloon on the bottom of the dry funnel that is found in the baking soda box.
Chemical / Physical Change Experiments
Cleaning Pennies (Chemical Change)
Materials:
- vinegar
- salt
- non-shiny pennies
- bowl
Experiment Procedures:
1. Pour 4 tablespoons of salt into the vinegar and then gently stir.
2. Add a couple of dirty pennies and continue to stir for about a minute.
3. When the pennies appear shiny, take them out and rub with your fingers.
4. Then rinse the pennies in water and dry them off.
5. Answer questions from the experiment observation sheet.
6. Clean up your area: dump the water and vinegar in the sink and dry your area up. Fill one of your bowls half way full of water and pour the bottle of vinegar into the other bowl.