Elephant
Toothpaste
What You'll Need
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Tray/Absorbent Material
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16-oz Bottle of Water
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3oz Hydrogen Peroxide
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Dish Soap
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Food Coloring
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1 Packet of Dry Yeast
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Warm Water
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Small Cup
GRADE
5-8
TIME
15 min
Directions
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If you are doing this inside, place absorbent materials on the surface you plan to do experiment (alternatively, you can use a plastic tray to contain the ‘toothpaste’), and remove anything directly above the workspace.
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Empty out the bottle of water.
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Add 3oz hydrogen peroxide, a few squirts of dish soap, and a few drops of food coloring to the plastic bottle.
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Cap the bottle, and shake it until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
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Pour yeast into a small cup.
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Add ¼ cup of warm water to the cup.
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The yeast will activate fairly quickly, so after 45 seconds, pour it into the plastic bottle.
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Stand back, and watch the ‘toothpaste’ erupt.
What
Happened?
In this experiment, the yeast acted as a catalyst, something that accelerates a chemical reaction, to decompose hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Because of this, the oxygen bubbles in the soapy water created the fun foam you saw. If you touched the bottle while it was foaming, you may have noticed that it was a little warm. This happened because an exothermic reaction occurred, meaning it produced heat.