Segment #7 - Non-Newtonian Fluids

Non-Newtonian Fluids - SLIME!

Segment 7

Have you ever wondered if there was a substance that could be both a solid and a liquid at the same time?

Welcome to the Science Playground! Today we're going to be exploring Non-Newtonian Fluids by creating SLIME!

Slime is a non-Newtonian liquid, which means that the viscosity, or resistance, of the liquid changes as you apply a stronger force. If you rest your hand on the surface of slime it will sink in, but it you smack it, the surface is solid.

The ingredients you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• Cornstarch
• Water
• Food Colouring
• Saran Wrap (Optional - if you want to continue with the second part!)

The materials you're going to need for this experiment include:

• Mixing Bowl
• Spoon
• Measuring Utensils
• Speaker (Optional - If you want to continue with the second part!)

This experiment isn't dangerous, however it's never a bad idea to wear goggles, an apron or lab coat, and gloves to protect against spills and splashes.

The first step of this experiment is to prep your cornstarch and water. Place 2 Cups of cornstarch into the mixing bowl. You're going to take a little bit of water, and slowly add it in while stirring. You're not going to want to add a lot of water, or else the slime will be too watery and it won't be the right consistency. Once you've reached a consistency where it becomes a  solid in motion, yet a liquid when it stays still.

When you pick this strange substance up, you'll realize that it'll stay a solid, that is until you let it sit and it melts in your hands like a pile of goop! Now add a few drops of food colouring, stir it with a spoon until the colouring is fully mixed in. 

If you wish to continue with the second part, you're going to need to take a piece of saran wrap and place it on top of your speaker. From there, you're going to pour your mixture on top of the plastic. From there, you're going to want to connect your music device and pick a song with preferably lots of bass. Once you play your music, you will see the slime move around.  

Lets look at this experiment a little closer. 

Your Ooze is made up of tiny, solid particles of cornstarch suspended in water. Chemists call this type of mixture acolloid. As you found out when you experimented with your Ooze, this colloid behaves strangely. When you bang on it with a spoon or quickly squeeze a handful of Ooze, it freezes in place, acting like a solid. The harder you push, the thicker the Ooze becomes. But when you open your hand and let your Ooze ooze, it drips like a liquid.
When we placed our mixture onto the speaker, the bass and volume of the music caused our slime to bounce around. Because of the motion, the slime became a solid and  bounced around. It wasn't until we shut the music off that the slime returned to a liquid state.

So that's it for today guys! I hope that you enjoyed this experiment, stay tuned for our next segment on BURNING MONEY!

If you have any questions regarding this experiment or science in general, feel free to email me at englishprojectscience@gmail.com

Segment #6 - Density Layers

Density Layers

Segment 6

Welcome to the Science Playground! Today we're going to exploring density through our DENSITY LAYER TOWER. 

The density of a liquid is determined by its mass or how close its molecules are packed together. 

The ingredients you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• Rubbing Alcohol
• Dish Soap
• Lamp Oil
• Baby Oil
• Food Colouring 
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Canola or Vegetable Oil
• Corn Syrup
• Honey
• Chocolate Syrup
• Milk
• Maple Syrup

The materials you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• A Glass
• A Bowl
• A Spoon
• Turkey Baster  

This experiment isn't hazardous, it's never a bad idea to wear goggles, an apron or lab coat and a pair of gloves to protect against spills and splashes.

The first step is to take your honey and pour it into the bottom of your glass. Be extra careful not to drip the honey on the sides of the glass. If the honey touches the bottom of the glass, it is best to wash your glass out and start over. Next, you're going to fill your turkey baster with the corn syrup. The turkey baster will help us gently place the liquids on top of each other, without disturbing the layer below it. Gently squeeze the turkey baster to place the corn syrup on top of the honey. After making your syrup layer, wash and dry your turkey baster. You must wash it after every different liquid is used.

Next, use the turkey baster to place the chocolate syrup on top of the corn syrup. 

Now continue this step with the maple syrup, but very gently and slowly to prevent the chocolate syrup from mixing with the maple syrup. REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR BASTER AFTER EVERY USE.

We're now going to place our milk onto the tower, then the dish soap.

Before you add the next layer, which is water, mix in a little bit of food colouring. We used purple to make the colour stand out from the rest of the liquids. After the food colouring is mixed in, place the coloured water on top of your dish soap with the turkey baster.

Next, add the vegetable oil to your tower.

Then add the extra virgin olive oil.

Before you add in the rubbing alcohol, mix it with a little bit of food colouring to make it stand out. We used green to make it POP! Gently add it to your tower with the baster.

Now add your baby oil to the tower.

The final layer we are going to add to our tower is the lamp oil. 

You now have a density tower that has 12 different layers that shows how different liquids can be stacked because of the differences of their densities.

Lets look at this experiment a little closer. All liquids have a set amount of different molecules. If we are to take three of our liquids, eg./ Lamp oil, water, and honey, we can compare the different masses between them. If a liquid has a higher density than water, it will become much heavier. If a liquid has a lower density or less molecules, it becomes lighter.

If we take a look at our density tower, we can see that the liquid at the bottom of the glass, the honey, has the highest density of all of the liquids. The liquid at the top of the glass, the lamp oil, has the lowest density. As we work our way up from the highest density, to the lowest density, we can see how our density tower works.

So that's it for today guys! I hope you enjoyed this experiment, stay tuned for our next segment on Non-Newtonian Fluids - SLIME!

If you have any questions regarding this experiment or science in general, feel free to email me at englishprojectscience@gmail.com

 

Segment #5 - Chemistry with Diet Coke

Chemistry with Diet Coke
Segment 5

Welcome to the Science Playground! Today we're going to be exploring, CHEMISTRY WITH DIET COKE!

The ingredients you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• 2L Diet Coke Bottle (You might need more than one!)
• Pack of Mentos for Every Bottle 

The materials you're going to need for this experiment include:

• A Pot or Bin to stabilize your bottle
• Toy Nozzle (Optional - helps the experiment run smoothly)

Although today's experiment isn't hazardous, we still recommend that you wear goggles, an apron or lab coat and gloves to protect against spills and splashes. This experiment is super messy, so this experiment should be done outside to prevent angry moms and dads!

Before we start, you will need to stabilize your pop bottle in a bin. If you don't, this reaction can act as a propellent and launch the bottle with a potential to cause injury. I used an old planter pot with some gardening soil to stabilize around the bottle.

The first step is to remove the cap from your Diet Coke bottle. Next, you must place the entire pack of Mentos into the bottle. 

After I had attempted to place the entire pack in, I became fully drenched in a sticky mess of Diet Coke. I found a toy nozzle that could be placed on top of the bottle to see if that would work. You can buy these toy nozzles at toy stores, craft stores or science stores. Once we pulled our string back, the mentos dropped into the soda and created a geyser of coke.

Lets take a look at this experiment a little closer. 

Our Diet Coke is a liquid that has had carbon dioxide put into it. Liquids and gases don't generally like to mix together. The bottles are pressurized, forcing the carbon dioxide to stay dissolved. When the lid is removed, the pressure decreases and the carbon dioxide from the liquid is slowly released into the air. If a carbonated beverage is shaken or stirred, more carbon dioxide than normal is released and causes more bubbles to form and foam. If we drop the Mentos into the bottle of Diet Coke, the Mentos bump into the carbon dioxide molecules, creating the same effect of shaking or stirring the pop, this time at an amplified magnitude. 

Each Mentos has tiny little ridges and pores. These ridges increase the surface area of the pores, allowing them to bump into tons of carbon dioxide molecules. So much of the carbon dioxide is being released, liquid is also forced out of the bottle in the form of foam. This reaction causes a large coke geyser.

Diet Coke creates larger geysers than pops with sugar because the aspartame reduces the forces keeping the carbon dioxide in the liquid and allows for a faster release of the carbon dioxide gas. 

So that's it for today guys! I hope you enjoyed this experiment, stay tuned for our next segment on DENSITY LAYERS!

If you have any questions about this experiment or science in general, feel free to email me at englishprojectscience@gmail.com

Segment #4 - Instant Waterbending

Instant Waterbending

Segment 4

Wouldn't it be cool to be able to flash freeze a bottle of water just by touching it? How about being able to freeze flowing water?

Welcome to the Science Playground! Today we're going to be exploring supercooled solutions by INSTANT WATERBENDING!

A supercooled solution is any solution that has been brought below its typical freezing point, yet remains a liquid.

The ingredients you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• Filled Water Bottle
• Ice

The materials you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• Bowl
• Freezer
• Thermometer 

To start this experiment, all you have to do is throw some water bottles into the freezer. The more you place in there, the better chance of success you'll have. The freezer you use needs to be set around -24*C or -11*F. You can check this by leaving a thermometer inside of your closed freezer for around an hour or until the thermometer stops dropping. 

The minute the door closes, make a note of the time. To find the perfect time for your bottle to be in the freezer, check after an hour and 45 minutes. If your water has not frozen yet, leave it for another 15 minutes. Repeat this step until the bottle of water has frozen.  Make note of that time and subtract 15 minutes from it; that will give you the best time to take your water out of the freezer before it freezes. You will notice that it will be a liquid, however you might see flakes of ice floating in the water. Eg./ After 2 hours and 45 minutes, my bottle of water froze. The perfect time for my freezer would be 2 hours and 30 minutes. 

Lets look at this experiment a little closer. As our bottle sits in the freezer, energy is removed and the temperature begins to drop. After a few hours, enough energy has been removed to drop below its freezing point yet remains a liquid. This water is well below its freezing point. however it hasn't frozen because there are no impurities or no points of nucleation. The water does want to freeze, that's why something as simple as a jolt to the side of the bottle can be enough to nucleate the ice formation. Just like magic, you have instant ice. 

Another way to jump start your freezing is to use a piece of ice. Put your ice into a bowl and pour your water on top. You should see it freeze and build instantly, thus creating your own ice sculptures every time your water makes contact with your ice.

You can make this even easier by using a whole bowl of ice. Pour your water on top of the ice and you will begin to see the formation. If you start pouring your water and you notice that it doesn't look like it's building, it means that your water isn't cold enough and should be placed in your freezer for another 5-10 minutes.

If you leave your bottles too long in the freezer, it will become super sensitive. Even wiping the side of the bottle can initiate the freeze. 

Lastly, if you pour your water into a chilled bowl, you can also create ice sculptures that way as well. 

In conclusion, once the water particles come in contact with ice crystals, that will cause the water to freeze.

So that's it for today guys! I hope you all enjoyed today's experiment, stay tuned for our next segment on THE CHEMISTRY OF DIET COKE!

If you have any questions about this experiment or science in general, feel free to email me at englishprojectscience@gmail.com

Segment #3 - Elephant Toothpaste

Elephant Toothpaste

Segment 3

Welcome to the Science Playground! Today we're going to be exploring ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE!

The ingredients you're going to need for this experiment include:

• 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
• Dry Pure Yeast
• Dawn Dish Soap
• Food Colouring (Optional)

The materials you're going to need for this experiment includes:

• A Beaker or 2L Pop Bottle
• Funnel
• Bowl
• A Pan (Optional - prevents messes!)
• Measuring Cups
• Mixing Utensils

For this experiment, we recommend that you use gloves, goggles, and an apron or lab coat to protect yourself from spills or splashes. Please keep in mind that this reaction is reaction is exothermic, so it does produce a little bit of heat.

The first step in our experiment is to prep the dry yeast. You must take your bowl and dissolve the yeast in some warm water. We're going to take one teaspoon of our dry yeast and place it in our bowl. We're then going to take two tablespoons of warm water. From there, you're going to mix the yeast and water until it has fully dissolved. 

While our yeast is activating, place your bottle or beaker in the centre of your tray. Add 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide to your container/beaker, then add a few drops of food colouring. Lastly, add a few drops of dish soap to your mixture. Use a spoon to mix it all together.

The final step in our experiment is to add our activated yeast to our coloured hydrogen peroxide solution of 3%. As you can see, when we mix our hydrogen peroxide solution to our yeast, a steady production of hot foam is produced. If we are to do this experiment a concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution greater than 3%, the hot foam will expand the same way, however this time it will expand much faster.

Lets take a look at this experiment a little closer. A hydrogen peroxide molecule consists of two hydrogen and two oxygen molecules. The solution you buy in stores also contain lots of water molecules. The higher the concentration listed on the bottle, the more hydrogen perxoide molecules and the fewer water molecules it will contain. Hydrogen peroxide is a relatively unstable compound and it breaks down on its own into water and oxygen, given a little bit of time. The catalyst in our experiment, known as catalase, is produced by the yeast.

In this reaction, the catalase in the yeast rapidly breaks the bonds of the hydrogen peroxide molecules. The H2O2 molecule loses one oxygen molecule. Since oxygen molecules do not like to be by themselves, they attach together, create O2, and float out of the solution. When the bonds of a molecule are broken in this fashion, energy is released - usually in the form of heat. Usually if the bonds break on their own over time, only a small increase in temperature can be noticed. Since we used the catalyst in this experiment to increase the rate that the hydrogen peroxide breaks down, we also increase the rate at which energy is released. The rapid release of energy causes a dramatic increase in our temperature of our solution, making it exothermic. The large number of escaping oxygen bubbles become trapped in the dish soap molecules, producing large amounts of hot foam, also known as elephant toothpaste.

So that's it for today guys! I hope you all enjoyed today's experiment, stay tuned for our next segment on INSTANT WATERBENDING!

 If you have any questions regarding this experiment or science in general, feel free to email me at englishprojectscience@gmail.com

Segment #2 - Bouncy, Rubber Eggs!

Bouncy Naked Eggs!
Segment 2

"Which came first, the rubber egg or the rubber chicken?" It's easy to make a rubber egg if you understand the chemistry of removing the eggshell with vinegar. What you're left with is a totally embarrassed naked egg and a cool piece of science.
   
Welcome to the Science Playground! Today we're going to be exploring osmosis through making bouncy, naked eggs!

EGGCELLENT!!

The ingredients you're going to need for this experiment include:

• A Raw Egg.
• White Vinegar.
• Corn Syrup.
• Food Colouring.

The equipment you're going to need for this experiment include:

• A Glass.
• Spoon.

The reaction we're creating today isn't dangerous, but it's always a good idea to wear a lab coat or apron and goggles to protect from spills and splashes.

The first step in our experiment is to take our egg and gently place it in the bottom of your glass. If you break your egg, you're going to have to start over again. Once you place your egg in the bottom, pour your vinegar over top of your egg. The vinegar is going to remove the calcium shell off of your and it will expose the membrane.

The shelled egg will need to sit in the vinegar bath for 48 hours. As the egg bathes in the vinegar, you will shortly begin to see the shell dissolve. The bubbles clinging to our egg will cause the egg to float, flip and turn. After that, the shell will be fully dissolved and the membrane will be fully exposed. Once this step is complete, pour out your vinegar into a sink and gently catch the egg. Rinse off the egg under cold water.

Once you have your egg removed from the vinegar, you will notice that it has grown in size. This is because the water particles have flown from the vinegar into the egg through OSMOSIS.

The next step is to VERY GENTLY place your naked egg into a glass. Pour your corn syrup over top of it. You will then need to bend your spoon to submerge your egg into the syrup. The spoon will forcefully keep the egg submerged, as it has the tendency to float. Be extra gentle not to pop or break the egg! The egg will then need to sit in the corn syrup from 24-48 hours. Once this stage is complete, pour out your corn syrup into the sink. Gently catch your egg and give it a rinse.

The next step is to fill a glass with water, add some food colouring of your choice and give it a stir. Now with your coloured water, gently place your shriveled egg into the glass and leave it for another 24 hours.The shriveled egg will begin to expand and grow larger, as the water particles begin to pass through the eggs membrane. After 24 hours, pour out your water in the sink and gently catch your egg.

So why did this reaction occur? Lets take a look at this experiment a little closer.

Vinegar is made up of a water solution of acetic acid, while the egg shell is made up of calcium carbonate.When we place our egg into the vinegar, the molecules cause a chemical reaction thaat produces carbon dioxide gas, water and calcium acetate. Once the shell of our egg is removed, and we can fully expose the membrane under it, something really interesting happens. The water particles in our vinegar begin to travel through the membrane of our egg and it begins to fill with water. Since the eggs membrane is semipermeable, it only allows some particles to move through - water being one. 

When we place our egg into the corn syrup, the opposite reaction occurs. The water travels through the eggs membrane and then into the syrup. As the egg begins to lose its water particles, it will begin to shrink and shrivel up. 

When we place our egg into the coloured water, once again the water particles move through the membrane and back into the egg. This causes the egg to swell and expand - this time even larger.

The process of the water travelling back and forth through our membrane to create our different stages of egg is known as, OSMOSIS!

So that's it for today guys! I hope you all enjoyed today's experiment, stay tuned for our next segment, ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE!

If you have any questions regarding this experiment, or science in general, feel free to email me at englishprojectscience@gmail.com!

Segment #1 - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

(ASMR)

Segment 1

When you were younger and you got your hair cut at a salon, did you ever experience a tingle-like feeling on your scalp? How about that one person who has a soft spoken voice that makes you feel relaxed when they would talk? Do you find that certain sounds can make you feel more relaxed and tired? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you most likely have experienced ASMR.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, the term most commonly known as ASMR, is a physical sensation characterized by a satisfying tingling that begins at the back of the head and scalp, and often moves down the spine and through the limbs. It's described as being meditative and soothing. 

The feeling of ASMR is triggered by a number of different stimuli, and the effective ASMR triggers can differ from person to person. Some common triggers include:

• The sound of lips smacking, such as when eating.
• Slow or soft speech patterns.
• Ear-to-ear whispering.
• Light sounds of crinkling, fire crackling, nail scratching and tapping.
• Someone completing a meticulous task.
• Personal attention, such as painting or hair cutting.
• Cranial nerve examinations.
• Binaural microphones and sounds.

ASMR can be categorized into 2 different types. Type A is self-induced ASMR, like meditating or yoga, while type B occurs when an individual experiences ASMR after watching or hearing different triggers that someone else has created. Type B is more commonly reported.
There are 2 different kinds of ASMR - visual and hearing. Visual triggers occur when one watches movements and can experience ASMR. Hearing triggers occur when one hears certain sounds and experiences ASMR. Most ASMR viewers report to have both hearing and visual triggers. One should wear headphones and should be in a quiet environment while watching ASMR videos to experience the full effect. Without headphones or a quiet environment, the triggers may not work on the individual listening and watching.
Not everyone claims to experience ASMR, however some people believe that everyone can experience it with a certain trigger. Not everyone has the same trigger, however there are tons of different triggers to explore.
ASMR is described much like synesthesia - the phenomenon where one sense produces the experience of another. Like synesthesia a few years back, ASMR is having a hard time getting recognition in the scientific community. In fact, because the term isn't medically recognized, there has been a prolonged battle of whether it should even have a Wikipedia entry. Research on ASMR is still in its infancy, however neuroscientist Steven Novella believes that it likely has a real neurological cause that could potentially be caused by miniature seizures or hardwired evolutionary reactions. Other people theorize that dopamine or serotonin are involved or that it is a bonding phenomenon connected to mother-child nurturing, releasing the hormone, oxytocin.  
Now, if you have never experienced ASMR before and want to give it a try, I have good news for you. ASMR has captured the interest of one growing corner of the internet. There is a whole community online primarily cultivated by whisperer videos, where people record ASMR triggers while speaking softly or making sounds with objects such as feathers, brushes, plastic, etc. Some "ASMR-tist's" create role videos where they play different roles such as hairstylists, optometrists, etc. Hundreds of Youtubers upload thousands of videos to help their viewers relax. People suffering from anxiety, OCD, PTSD, depression, insomnia and other conditions claim that ASMR videos really help them to feel relaxed and calm. 
So now, it's up to you! If you would like to dip your toe into the ASMR pool, you can easily start by viewing different videos online. 

Thanks for tuning into this weeks unique segment! I will link some ASMR videos below if you are interested in watching them. Next week we will exploring "Rubber, Bouncy Eggs; Osmosis!"