14 Feb 2021
If an elephant used toothpaste, this is probably what it'd look like! It looks just as it sounds – foaming toothpaste so big an elephant could brush its teeth with!
The Elephant Toothpaste Experiment is one of those experiments that really helps captivate the minds of students and serves as a great introduction to fun science. The name itself provokes the imagination and the resulting reaction does nothing to disappoint our eager young scientists.
Students had to gather their materials, put on their safety googles and mix ingredients causing a scientific reaction causing foam to erupt.
Students loved the experiment and said it was super cool to watch the foam slowly come out and erupt.
So what’s the science behind elephant toothpaste?
The slow-motion analysis of the foamy concoction explains how a little mix of detergent and potassium iodide can produce a burst of bubbles when mixed with a 30% hydrogen peroxide solution. (That’s water with an extra oxygen atom.) Hydrogen peroxide is unstable and breaks down over time into water and oxygen gas, but the catalyst potassium iodide speeds up that decomposition into a matter of seconds. Add some soap (and food coloring if you’re feeling adventurous) and you’ve got a mix of soapy water and gas to fill some bubbles. Plenty of fun, but the soapy foam won’t work very well to brush any teeth.