This is the perfect experiment for our motto, “Don’t do it at home, do it at a friend’s home.” Who wants to make a mess in their own microwave?
Ivory soap is one of the only soaps that float. Drop it in water and check for yourself. But how does Ivory float when most soaps sink?
For this experiment, take a new, fresh bar of Ivory soap (not one that has been sitting on the shelf for a long time). Cut it into smaller pieces and note that the bar does not have pockets of air. The air is pumped into the soap during the manufacturing process. Microwave for a minute or less and watch what happens. If you microwave the soap for a long time, it will start to turn brown and gross, so watch it while it cooks.
Clay and Nick from Lenski Elementary joined me on 9News this week to test the honesty of 9News anchor Mark Koebrich.
Two clear liquids are mixed together and a question is asked. A truthful answer, and the liquid will remain clear. An untruthful answer will cause the liquid to change color. Mr. Koebrich told a lie, and BAM! the liquid turned to black ink.
Okay, maybe a lie detector is going a little too far. It’s really a chemical reaction that is causing the clear liquid to change to black. The Iodine Clock Reaction is one of the most startling chemical demonstrations you’ll ever see.
This reaction is referred to as the Landolt Clock Reaction. There are three steps in the process that cause this amazing reaction. When you prepare the Solutions A, B, and C, the chemicals begin to mix and form new chemical compounds.
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Since fireworks are no longer an option, you have to find some way to occupy your time on the 4th of July. I turned to my demo team and brainstormed anything we could do in the backyard at 9News for the celebration. Here’s the classic Elephant’s Toothpaste demo using hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide as the catalyst to make a red, white and blue patriotic eruption that shot up about 20 feet in the air.
We also learned that Oxiclean is the magic cleaner that will remove iodine stains from the beautifully pressed white shirt of a news anchor (thanks to Mark Koebrich for being the best Science Monday co-host in the world!)
UPDATED JULY 5, 2011 – Mark Koebrich asked photo journalist Brian Willie to share some behind-the-scenes video of this amazing eruption. Yes, everyone was wearing safety glasses. It’s important
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My relatives all know that any time we are gathered around the table is a great time for me to show off my newest table tricks… Thanksgiving is no exception. But, with something like the Egg Drop it has to be just right, so why not practice with Mark Koebrich on 9News first? But, when the segment starts out with a broken egg before we even start the experiment, I start to wonder whether this was a good idea or not. In the end, Mark got the egg in the glass… thanks to Newton’s laws of inertia. But, the real trick came when I broke out my new trick. Five glasses of water, five toilet paper rolls, and, yes, five eggs to drop into the glasses… and, it was a success. The relatives will be so proud.
Check out the video to see a sneak peek of what my Thanksgiving afternoon will look like and read …
