What do you think will happen when we mix all of this “stuff” together?
This is the question we will ask to the rounds of students when they first arrive at our station. All of the materials needed for this experiment (Liquid dish soap, instant yeast, warm water, food coloring, 30 volume hydrogen peroxide, an empty water bottle, and an aluminum tray) will be on display for the students to see when they first arrive. We will let students visually analyze the materials and ask for clarification on what is what before we pose our question. This brief inquiry session will encourage students to think about what they know about each item, and what might possibly happen when we put them all together.
How the heck does this work?
What causes the massive explosion of “toothpaste” large enough for an elephants mouth according to the Imagination Station in Toledo is simply that “The yeast contains an enzyme called Catalase that breaks down hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into oxygen gas and water. The oxygen gas gets trapped by the soap, and you get a large foamy solution that squirts out of the top of the bottle!” Click here to go to their website to see a live demonstration on a much larger scale, read the material list, and get a scientific explanation. Here is a video of us performing this experiment with everyday objects you can get from your local stores, and what we will be performing at the inquiry rounds.
Elephant toothpaste
Uploaded by Felicia Swift on 2019-10-29.
Why would we show this to first graders?
Ummm….BECAUSE IT’S AWESOME!!!! Seriously though this is such a cool experiment to do as an adult let alone as a young student. This shows students just how amazing water can be when added with other components or altered in its state. It shows the endless possibilities and wonders of water and science. It will leave them yearning for more experiments and answers to so many questions that have filled their little minds that will help guide them in their future learning. According to the Journal of Chemical Education, “few students see new information as pieces to be incorporated into an ever-growing body of knowledge that they possess.”
Resources:
Elephant toothpaste. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2019, from https://www.imaginationstationtoledo.org/educator/activities/elephant-toothpaste.
Eldridge, D. (2015). Using elephant’s toothpaste as an engaging and flexible curriculum alignment project. Journal of Chemical Education https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00037