Looking for some good clean fun? This one is for you. Today, we will create super cool clouds out
of Ivory Soap. This lesson explores buoyancy
and how heat affects other objects.
Lab Materials:
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Ivory Soap (bar form)
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Microwavable Plate
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Microwave
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Knife (for parent use only)
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Bowl of Water
First, have your scientist describe what the soap feels
like. Is it smooth? Can you squish it? If we put the soap in water, will it float or
sink?
Now, let’s test their hypothesis. Place the unwrapped bar of soap in a bowl of water. It should float. Part of Ivory’s manufacturing process infuses the soap has more air than other bar soaps.
Now, let’s test their hypothesis. Place the unwrapped bar of soap in a bowl of water. It should float. Part of Ivory’s manufacturing process infuses the soap has more air than other bar soaps.
Next, dry off and quarter the soap into four parts. Don’t
worry if some of it crumbles. Allow the
scientist arrange the pieces on the plate any way they wish as long as they are
touching.
Lastly, pop the plate in the microwave and turn it on for 3
minutes. Now normally I would recommend
this, but watch what’s going on in the microwave. It should start growing and bubbling right
before your eyes. You can take it out
anytime between 90 seconds and the ding.
By 2 minutes, ours looked like this and was ready to be taken out:
Cool, right?
So, what caused the soap to bubble and grow in the
microwave? Think about popcorn. The center of an un-popped kernel of popcorn
is air and a little bit of water. When
you microwave the kernel the water and air interact and try to escape causing
the kernel to POP into fluffy goodness.
Ivory, with its extra air reacts the same way: when excited (heated by microwave) the air
pockets POP into a fluffy soap sculptures (not yummy).
****Note to parents: The soap is still soap. It will clean. We put ours in the shower and break pieces
off as needed*****