Volcano and Elephant toothpaste

 With Children's day celebration in mind we had planned to do activities kids had been intending to try for a while. Yes, it was a Volcano model and  making elephant toothpaste . They were looking forward to the explosions that take place in these activities. 

Before starting the experiment we discussed the chemical reaction that takes place in it, the role of each ingredient in it.  

Materials

1.All purpose flour or Maida - 2 cups

2. water-1cup

3. small bottle - empty

4.food color- red

5.dish washing detergent - 6-8 drops

6. Bowl -1

7. vinegar - 1/2 cup

8. baking soda - 2 Tb spoon

9. Big tray -1

Procedure

1. Mix the flour and water in the bowl and make a stiff dough using 1/2 cup of water.

2. Keep the small bottle in the middle of the tray and using the dough make a cone like structure around the bottle. 

3. Pour 1 /4 cup of water in a cup and mix the red food coloring in it. 

4. Mix the dishwashing detergent  and baking soda in it. Detergent is added  to trap the bubbles produced in the reaction, you get a better lava reaction. 

5. Inform all your friends to be ready to observe the reaction.

6. Pour the vinegar slowly and observe the eruption taking place .

Variations

1. You can try using other acids such as lemon juice instead of vinegar.

2. Change the amount of baking soda or vinegar and see how it changes the reaction..

Elephant toothpaste

The minute I showed the ingredients to make elephant toothpaste, kids were all excited. Arav was quick to respond that Doctor used Hydrogen peroxide on his wound when he had a cut on his leg.  

Yes, Hydrogen peroxide is an antiseptic to kill bacteria. It is a liquid made from Hydrogen and oxygen atoms. 

Normally, if hydrogen peroxide is left open it will slowly break down into H2O and O2. But to accelerate the reaction we can add yeast which acts as a catalyst for the quick breakdown.

Materials

1. Big tray -1

2. Empty water  bottle -1

3. Yeast - 2 Tablespoon

4. Dishwashing Soap- 1 tsp

5. warm water - 1/2 cup

6. Hydrogen peroxide - 1/2 cup

7. Food coloring - green(Optional)

Procedure

1. Take 6 Tablespoons of warm water and mix yeast in them. Leave it for 1 or 2 minutes.

2 Measure 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide and pour it into the bottle. Place it on a big tray or near the sink. 

3. Add dishwashing soap in this and swirl it well. 

4. If you want to add food coloring , you can add a few drops. We added green.

5. Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and watch for the reaction.

Observation and Explanation.

You probably saw lots of bubbles and foam. Bubbles are formed when hydrogen peroxide starts reacting with yeast it breaks down into water and oxygen.  Since oxygen is a gas it escapes. The dish soap that we added traps the gas bubbles forming a foam. Yeast is from the fungi kingdom. Catalase is an enzyme that is present in yeast for it to break down hydrogen peroxide.  

Variation

Try the same reaction without adding dish soap.You will notice that there will be bubbles and no foam in them.

Roshni had brought a model of pinhole camera. She gave clear instructions and explanations to what to look for when using the model. Light was our topic a few weeks back and we spoke about pinhole cameras then. Glad that she was able to demonstrate the working of the pinhole camera.