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Scitech is a not-for-profit organisation proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation
experiment
Scitech is open Tuesday 26 January, 10am-4pm
Scitech is open Tuesday 26 January, 10am-4pm
Join Mita as we explore the science of this explosive reaction and find out how you can try it safely at home.
Experiment with some enormous ‘toothpaste’, fit for an elephant.
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) decomposes naturally into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). By adding a few more ingredients we can make a huge, bubbly reaction to visualise this process. In this experiment we add dish soap, to help create bubbles, and a catalyst – which is a special chemical that allows us to fast forward a reaction.
We’ve used two different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide to show how the strength of a chemical can change the size of the reaction, but you can easily try this experiment at home with just a few household ingredients.
IMPORTANT: Please note, if you try this experiment at home you need to use hydrogen peroxide bleach, NOT a chlorine based bleach.
Looking for more activities to do at home?