A Deeper Dive in Chemical Reactions & Balancing Equations and the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment
Chemical reactions in everyday things. In this lesson, you will learn why chemistry is a precise endeavor. We need to understand how chemical reactions balance and different types. We hope you enjoy these lessons! If you would like a list of contents for the STEM kits to conduct the experiment at home, please reach out to us. Check out the YouTube Channel Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDh5Y1Hp1XyQs-IMdJPYDexC3OGi-_9qj And check out the full video linked below! To learn more about the program, visit our Impact page!
Elephant Toothpaste Experiment:
Have you ever seen a foamy explosion that looks like toothpaste big enough for an elephant? That’s what happens in the Elephant Toothpaste experiment!
So, what’s going on?
When you mix hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) with yeast (or potassium iodide in some versions) and soap, a super cool chemical reaction happens.
Hydrogen peroxide is made of hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Normally, it breaks down very slowly into water and oxygen. But when you add yeast (which contains an enzyme called catalase), it breaks down super fast!
Here's the chemical reaction:
2 H₂O₂ → 2 H₂O + O₂ (gas!)
That O₂ gas (oxygen) is what causes the foam. It gets trapped in the dish soap, creating thousands of bubbles that shoot out like a giant foam fountain!
Let’s Break It Down:
Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) – This is the reactant. It looks like water, but has extra oxygen.
Yeast – This acts like a catalyst, something that speeds up a reaction without getting used up.
Soap – This traps the oxygen gas in bubbles, making foam
Just like in the balloon experiment, chemical reactions need to be balanced. That means the number of atoms of each element must be the same on both sides of the equation.
Here’s the equation again:
___ H₂O₂ → ___ H₂O + ___ O₂
How many H (hydrogen) and O (oxygen) atoms do we have on both sides?
Try to balance it!
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