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Addy’s favorite experiments

Addison “Addy” Henninger researches experiments online and sometimes creates her own. Here, she describes a few of her favorites:

Elephant’s Toothpaste

What happens: To create Elephant’s Toothpaste, mix food coloring, dish soap and hydrogen peroxide in a plastic bottle. In a bowl, mix yeast and water. When you pour the yeast mixture into the bottle, it will result in a warm foam that overflows the bottle.

How it works: The yeast works as a catalyst to release the oxygen molecules from the hydrogen peroxide solution. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction. Hydrogen peroxide is made of two hydrogen and two oxygen atoms. The oxygen-filled bubbles, which make up the foam, are actually the remainder of what happens when the hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen. The bottle and foam feel warm because this is an exothermic reaction in which energy is given off in the form of heat.

Color-changing Slime

What happens: By adding thermochromic pigment to regular slime, the slime changes color almost magically in your hands.

How it works: Thermochromic pigment is heat sensitive pigment that changes colors due to incandescence. What is incandescence? Incandescence is the reason things can change color resulting from levels of heat energy. A great example is the colors of fire. Heat energy is the result of the movement of atoms.

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