Elephant Toothpaste Experiment - Investigating Catalysts in Chemical Reactions

 
CBA 1- Extended
Experimental
Investigation
 
By Rafia
Nauman
 
Elephant toothpaste
experiment- chemical
reactions
 
Table of
Contents!
 
Part A-
 
Questioning and
Predicting
 
Part C-
 
Processing and
Analysing
 
Part B-
 
Planning and
Conducting
 
Part D-
 
Reflecting and
Reporting
 
01
 
Part A-
 
Questioning and
Predicting
 
When yeast (a catalyst) is
mixed into hydrogen peroxide
it causes a rapid reaction,
the hydrogen peroxide breaks
down into large amounts of
water and oxygen, this causes
the mixture to quickly expand
and burst out. When washing up
liquid is added to the
solution it turns it into a
foam by trapping the oxygen
bubbles.
 
Background research
 
 
Catalyst
 
Yeast is just one of the many
possible catalysts that can be
used to catalyse the breakdown
of hydrogen peroxide eg.
Potatoes, magnesium dioxide.
In our experiment we are
trying to see what catalyst
breaks down H ₂O ₂ the best so
we’ll be using multiple
catalysts to see which one is
the most efficient at creating
foam.
 
Background research
 
Question
 
Topic-
 Chemical Reactions
Which substance catalyses
the breakdown of hydrogen
peroxide the best*
 
*the “best”
means the
most foam
produced by
the reaction
 
Hypothesis
 
If the catalyst is
from a laboratory
then the breakdown
of hydrogen
peroxide would be
the best because
catalysts  are
specifically for
reactions
 
02
 
Part B-
 
Planning and
Conducting
 
Equipment:
 
Graduated cylinder
 
Gloves
 
Safety goggles
 
Dish soap
 
Hydrogen peroxide
 
Water
 
Spatula
 
Plastic tub
 
Stirring rod
 
Beaker(for water)
 
Food colouring
 
Catalysts:
Yeast
Magnesium dioxide
Potatoes
 
 
Beaker(for H O )
 
2
 
2
 
Safety
 
Gloves
 
To protect my hands as
I’ll be working with
hydrogen peroxide which
is a corrosive acid
 
 Clothes
 
Hydrogen peroxide can
bleach clothing so I
have to be careful when
dealing with the acid
 
Safety goggles
 
To protect my eyes as
hydrogen peroxide can
irritate them
 
I’ll do the reaction in
a plastic tub to
protect the table and
myself
 
 Plastic tub
 
Constants
Volume of hydrogen
peroxide
Volume of the
catalyst
Volume of dish soap
Time (1 minute)
Temperature
Volume of dish soap
 
Variables and
Controls
 
Independent Variable
The catalyst will
be the independent
variable
 
Dependant Variable
How much foam is
produced will be
the dependant
variable
 
I will conduct the
experiment 3 times with
each catalyst so then I
can calculate an average
to get a more accurate
result
I will be careful when
pouring and measuring
the catalysts, hydrogen
peroxide and dish soap
so that the experiment
stays mainly constant
other than my own added
variable, the catalyst
I will keep everything
room temperature to
avoid introducing a new
variable
 
Good experimental
design
 
Carefully measuring
everything
 
Gloves for safety
 
Step 5- pour the catalyst
solution into the graduated
cylinder
 
Step 6- for my experiment since
I’m trying to see which
substance catalyses the
breakdown of hydrogen peroxide
the best I will  immediately
start a stopwatch and stop it at
exactly 1 minute and record the
volume of foam produced
 
Step 7- repeat this process with
each catalyst three times and
record the foam produced 1
minute after the initial
reaction.
 
Procedure
 
Step 1- gather equipment and
measure accurate volumes of dish
soap(2 teaspoons),water(50ml),
catalyst(10g) and hydrogen
peroxide(50ml). Put on gloves
and safety goggles.
 
Step 2- place the graduated
cylinder in the plastic tub and
pour the hydrogen peroxide into
the graduated cylinder.
 
Step 3- put the catalyst into
the beaker and mix with some
water(grind the catalyst with a
mortar and pestle if needed)
 
Step 4- squirt a drop of dish
soap into the graduated cylinder
and mix with stirring rod.
 
Here is a diagram of what the experiment looks like, I pour
the beaker with the catalyst mixed with the water into the
graduated cylinder and the reaction happens, I time it and at
one minute I record the volume of foam.
 
Diagram
 
03
 
Part C-
 
Processing and
Analysing
 
Results
 
 
For my experiment I decided
to test the breakdown of
hydrogen peroxide with 3
different catalysts,
potatoes, magnesium dioxide
and yeast. Here are the
results:
 
As you can see there is a
drastic change in foam produced
from the first time I did the
experiment to the second and
last. This could be due to the
fact that I did the first
experiment with the potato on a
Monday and then only 3 days
later on Thursday did I do the
other three, the drastic change
in foam could suggest that the
ripeness of the potato plays a
key role in the reaction. This
will definitely affect the
accuracy of the overall average
and experiment.
 
The volume of foam produced
from using a potato as a
catalyst was 320cm
2
,130cm
2
 and
190cm
2
.
 
Potato
 
 
The volume of foam produced
using magnesium dioxide was
920cm
2
 , 940cm
2,
 and 540cm
2
. As
you can see there is another
drastic change in the volume of
foam, again this is due to
another unwanted and unexpected
variable. For the first and
second time I performed the
experiment I used magnesium
dioxide I borrowed from my
science teacher however there
was only enough for two
experiments.
 
Later my teacher gave me a
different pack of magnesium
dioxide, after performing the
experiment and recording the
data we came to the conclusion
that the pack was kept in
storage for longer and must
have oxidized, introducing an
unexpected variable.
 
 
Magnesium dioxide
 
 
The volume of foam produced by
using the yeast was 120cm
2
,
1080cm
2,
 and 960cm
2
. It’s quite
obvious that something must’ve
interfered and introduced a new
variable during the reaction,
there was a huge change in
volume when I did the
experiment the second and third
time. This is most likely due
to the fact that I used
different brands of yeast,
thinking that it wouldn’t
affect the reaction however I
was sorely mistaken.
 
Yeast
 
.
 
Results
 
.
 
Results
 
Here are the three results for each
catalyst in bar chart form, I thought
this would be the best way to display
this data.
 
Here are the mean average results in
bar chart form.
 
Patterns/
Relationships
 
By analysing the data
I can determine that
substances that I
derived from the
school laboratory
catalysed the
breakdown of hydrogen
peroxide better than
the potato which is a
natural substance.
 
Conclusion
 
By looking at the graphs I
can see that the potato
reacted quite poorly compared
to the yeast and magnesium
dioxide. This means that a
natural catalyst does not
catalyse the breakdown of
hydrogen peroxide the best
but rather yeast and
magnesium dioxide. Overall
the magnesium catalysed the
breakdown of hydrogen
peroxide the best by
producing the most foam.
However, I am aware that due
to various problems with
performing the experiments
this information might not be
the most accurate.
 
 
Yes, my hypothesis has been
supported, it was that if the
catalyst is from a laboratory
then the breakdown of hydrogen
peroxide would be the best and it
was. Both the laboratory
substances used, yeast and
magnesium dioxide had moderately
better reactions compared to the
potato
 
Has my hypothesis been
supported?
 
04
 
Part D-
 
Reflecting and
Reporting
 
Design of the
experiment
 
The experiment was to do an
elephant toothpaste reaction
with different catalysts and
then comparing them to see
which does the best at
producing the most foam, 1
minute after the initial
reaction.
I think that the design of
the experiment was quite
good, it was easy to
understand and perform after
some practice.
 
However for this experiment
be as accurate as possible i
had to be extremely careful
not to introduce another
variable which unfortunately
did occur. Even if the
execution had some difficulty
the overall design I believe
was quite good.
 
 
Sources of
error
 
There are definitely going
to be errors in my
investigation since I had
limited time and supplies.
The accuracy in measuring
the dish soap, hydrogen
peroxide and catalyst was to
my best ability,
 
but the conclusion that
laboratory sourced
substances produce more foam
might be incorrect as I
didn’t investigate that many
possible catalysts.
 
Limitations of data
 
 
A major limitation I had with
the data was that there wasn’t
much to compare with if I had
perhaps investigated more
catalysts then I think my
final deduction would’ve been
much more accurate.
 
Relationship to real
life
 
This experiment has little to
no relationship at all with
real life, elephant toothpaste
is a reaction commonly used in
classrooms as a demonstration
of an exothermic reaction.
More recently, it's been used
at the 2019 Miss Virginia
pageant and for gender
reveals. I suppose if you were
looking for a flashy gender
reveal this investigation
might’ve been somewhat
helpful.
 
24-year-old
biochemist
Camille Schrier
won Miss
Virginia after
an elephant
toothpaste
demonstration
 
Possible
improvements
 
If i was to do this
experiment again I would be
much more careful with what
catalysts I use and to make
sure they are fresh and not
to use different brands of
yeast as that does affect the
experiment. I also only dealt
with a small sample group of
just three catalysts if I had
more time it would’ve been
best try more catalysts to
make the conclusion as
accurate as possible.
 
 
Possible extensions
 
As I previously mentioned I only
dealt with a small sample group
of catalysts and a good
extension could be to add more
into the investigation, it would
be interesting to see how other
catalysts such as radish and
liver react to hydrogen peroxide
and dish soap.
 
References
 
 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_too
thpaste
https://mymodernmet.com/miss-virginia-science-
talent/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mak
e-elephant-toothpaste/
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/books/arti
cle/elephant-toothpaste
https://sciencenotes.org/elephant-toothpaste-
two-ways-to-make-it/
Oide Kirwan
 
The End
 
CBA by
Rafia
Nauman
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This extended experimental investigation explores the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide using different catalysts to create 'elephant toothpaste.' The experiment aims to determine which catalyst is most efficient at catalyzing the reaction, involving yeast, magnesium dioxide, and potatoes. Background research, hypothesis, equipment list, and methodology are presented, culminating in a hands-on exploration of chemical reactions.


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  1. CBA 1 CBA 1- - Extended Extended Experimental Experimental Investigation Investigation Elephant toothpaste experiment- chemical reactions By Rafia Nauman

  2. Table of Table of Contents! Contents! Part A Part A- - Part C Part C- - Questioning and Predicting Processing and Analysing Part B Part B- - Part D Part D- - Planning and Conducting Reflecting and Reporting

  3. 01 Part A Part A- - Questioning and Predicting

  4. Background research Background research When yeast (a catalyst) is mixed into hydrogen peroxide it causes a rapid reaction, the hydrogen peroxide breaks down into large amounts of water and oxygen, this causes the mixture to quickly expand and burst out. When washing up liquid is added to the solution it turns it into a foam by trapping the oxygen bubbles.

  5. Background research Background research Yeast is just one of the many possible catalysts that can be used to catalyse the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide eg. Potatoes, magnesium dioxide. In our experiment we are trying to see what catalyst breaks down H O the best so we ll be using multiple catalysts to see which one is the most efficient at creating foam.

  6. Question Topic- Chemical Reactions Which substance catalyses the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide the best*

  7. If the catalyst is from a laboratory then the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide would be the best because catalysts are specifically for reactions Hypothesis Hypothesis

  8. 02 Part B Part B- - Planning and Conducting

  9. Equipment: Equipment: Graduated cylinder Graduated cylinder Gloves Gloves Dish soap Dish soap Safety goggles Safety goggles Food colouring Food colouring Hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide Water Water Spatula Spatula Catalysts: Catalysts: Yeast Yeast Magnesium dioxide Magnesium dioxide Potatoes Potatoes Plastic tub Plastic tub Stirring rod Stirring rod Beaker(for water) Beaker(for water) Beaker(for H O ) Beaker(for H O ) 2 2 2 2

  10. Safety Safety Clothes Clothes Hydrogen peroxide can bleach clothing so I have to be careful when dealing with the acid Gloves Gloves To protect my hands as I ll be working with hydrogen peroxide which is a corrosive acid Plastic tub Plastic tub I ll do the reaction in a plastic tub to protect the table and myself Safety goggles Safety goggles To protect my eyes as hydrogen peroxide can irritate them

  11. Variables and Variables and Controls Controls Constants Volume of hydrogen peroxide Volume of the catalyst Volume of dish soap Time (1 minute) Temperature Volume of dish soap Independent Variable The catalyst will be the independent variable Dependant Variable How much foam is produced will be the dependant variable

  12. Good experimental Good experimental design design I will conduct the experiment 3 times with each catalyst so then I can calculate an average to get a more accurate result I will be careful when pouring and measuring the catalysts, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap so that the experiment stays mainly constant other than my own added variable, the catalyst I will keep everything room temperature to avoid introducing a new variable Gloves for safety Carefully measuring everything

  13. Procedure Procedure Step 1- gather equipment and measure accurate volumes of dish soap(2 teaspoons),water(50ml), catalyst(10g) and hydrogen peroxide(50ml). Put on gloves and safety goggles. Step 5- pour the catalyst solution into the graduated cylinder Step 6- for my experiment since I m trying to see which substance catalyses the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide the best I will immediately start a stopwatch and stop it at exactly 1 minute and record the volume of foam produced Step 2- place the graduated cylinder in the plastic tub and pour the hydrogen peroxide into the graduated cylinder. Step 3- put the catalyst into the beaker and mix with some water(grind the catalyst with a mortar and pestle if needed) Step 7- repeat this process with each catalyst three times and record the foam produced 1 minute after the initial reaction. Step 4- squirt a drop of dish soap into the graduated cylinder and mix with stirring rod.

  14. Diagram Diagram Here is a diagram of what the experiment looks like, I pour the beaker with the catalyst mixed with the water into the graduated cylinder and the reaction happens, I time it and at one minute I record the volume of foam.

  15. 03 Part C Part C- - Processing and Analysing

  16. Results Results As you can see there is a drastic change in foam produced from the first time I did the experiment to the second and last. This could be due to the fact that I did the first experiment with the potato on a Monday and then only 3 days later on Thursday did I do the other three, the drastic change in foam could suggest that the ripeness of the potato plays a key role in the reaction. This will definitely affect the accuracy of the overall average and experiment. For my experiment I decided to test the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide with 3 different catalysts, potatoes, magnesium dioxide and yeast. Here are the results: Potato Potato The volume of foam produced from using a potato as a catalyst was 320cm2,130cm2and 190cm2.

  17. Later my teacher gave me a different pack of magnesium dioxide, after performing the experiment and recording the data we came to the conclusion that the pack was kept in storage for longer and must have oxidized, introducing an unexpected variable. Magnesium dioxide Magnesium dioxide The volume of foam produced using magnesium dioxide was 920cm2, 940cm2,and 540cm2. As you can see there is another drastic change in the volume of foam, again this is due to another unwanted and unexpected variable. For the first and second time I performed the experiment I used magnesium dioxide I borrowed from my science teacher however there was only enough for two experiments.

  18. Yeast Yeast The volume of foam produced by using the yeast was 120cm2, 1080cm2,and 960cm2. It s quite obvious that something must ve interfered and introduced a new variable during the reaction, there was a huge change in volume when I did the experiment the second and third time. This is most likely due to the fact that I used different brands of yeast, thinking that it wouldn t affect the reaction however I was sorely mistaken.

  19. Results Results Catalyst 1st experiment 2nd experiment 3rd experiment Calculatio ns Mean Average . Potato 320 130 190 320+130+19 0= 640 3= 213.3= 213cm2 Magnesium dioxide 920 940 540 920+940+54 0= 2400 3= 800cm2 Yeast 120 1080 960 120+1080+9 60= 2160 3= 7202

  20. Results Results . Here are the three results for each catalyst in bar chart form, I thought this would be the best way to display this data. Here are the mean average results in bar chart form.

  21. Patterns/ Patterns/ Relationships Relationships By analysing the data I can determine that substances that I derived from the school laboratory catalysed the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide better than the potato which is a natural substance.

  22. Conclusion Conclusion By looking at the graphs I can see that the potato reacted quite poorly compared to the yeast and magnesium dioxide. This means that a natural catalyst does not catalyse the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide the best but rather yeast and magnesium dioxide. Overall the magnesium catalysed the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide the best by producing the most foam. However, I am aware that due to various problems with performing the experiments this information might not be the most accurate.

  23. Has my hypothesis been supported? Yes, my hypothesis has been supported, it was that if the catalyst is from a laboratory then the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide would be the best and it was. Both the laboratory substances used, yeast and magnesium dioxide had moderately better reactions compared to the potato

  24. 04 Part D Part D- - Reflecting and Reporting

  25. Design of the Design of the experiment experiment However for this experiment be as accurate as possible i had to be extremely careful not to introduce another variable which unfortunately did occur. Even if the execution had some difficulty the overall design I believe was quite good. The experiment was to do an elephant toothpaste reaction with different catalysts and then comparing them to see which does the best at producing the most foam, 1 minute after the initial reaction. I think that the design of the experiment was quite good, it was easy to understand and perform after some practice.

  26. Sources of Sources of error error but the conclusion that laboratory sourced substances produce more foam might be incorrect as I didn t investigate that many possible catalysts. There are definitely going to be errors in my investigation since I had limited time and supplies. The accuracy in measuring the dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and catalyst was to my best ability,

  27. Relationship to real Relationship to real life life 24-year-old biochemist Camille Schrier won Miss Virginia after an elephant toothpaste demonstration This experiment has little to no relationship at all with real life, elephant toothpaste is a reaction commonly used in classrooms as a demonstration of an exothermic reaction. More recently, it's been used at the 2019 Miss Virginia pageant and for gender reveals. I suppose if you were looking for a flashy gender reveal this investigation might ve been somewhat helpful. Limitations of data Limitations of data A major limitation I had with the data was that there wasn t much to compare with if I had perhaps investigated more catalysts then I think my final deduction would ve been much more accurate.

  28. Possible Possible improvements improvements Possible extensions Possible extensions If i was to do this experiment again I would be much more careful with what catalysts I use and to make sure they are fresh and not to use different brands of yeast as that does affect the experiment. I also only dealt with a small sample group of just three catalysts if I had more time it would ve been best try more catalysts to make the conclusion as accurate as possible. As I previously mentioned I only dealt with a small sample group of catalysts and a good extension could be to add more into the investigation, it would be interesting to see how other catalysts such as radish and liver react to hydrogen peroxide and dish soap.

  29. References References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_too thpaste https://mymodernmet.com/miss-virginia-science- talent/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mak e-elephant-toothpaste/ https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/books/arti cle/elephant-toothpaste https://sciencenotes.org/elephant-toothpaste- two-ways-to-make-it/ Oide Kirwan

  30. The End The End CBA by Rafia Nauman

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