CHEMICAL REACTIONS: COLOR, FOAM, and FLUFF
Lauren Hawkins, Karen Yuhas Booth, Venzella Stowers, and Eric Davis
Piedmont College
Running Head: CHEMICAL REACTIONS: COLOR, FOAM, and FLUFF
The theme and topic of the final project was “Color, Foam, and Fluff.” This topic
explains the three different types of scientific chemical reactions. The project discussed the three
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types of chemical reactions, which are; volatile, size and state, and avoidance reactions. In order
to explain these types of reactions experiments were done that consisted of placing Mentos in
diet coke, producing “magic snow”, and placing soap and food coloring in milk.
The experiment of placing Mentos in diet coke gave a visual explanation of volatile
reactions. Volatile reactions are described as “an evaporating effect that takes place at normal
temperatures and pressures, which can readily be vaporized. During the experiment, four
different types of soda were used to determine which combinations of ingredients provided the
most effective result. When the Mentos was placed in the soda, an expansion of the carbonation
occurred, which caused an explosion, sending the soda out of the bottle and several feet into the
air.
The next experiment that was conducted was creating “magic snow.” This type of
experiment was conducted by combining sodium polyacrylate and water. This type of
experiment provided a visual example of both size and state reactions and rapid absorption. Size
and state reactions increase in volume, rapid absorption, and changes from hard to soft or from a
soft to a liquid. The more water that was used increased the overall volume of the “snow.” The
sodium polyacrylate absorbed the water and changed its molecular structure which produced the
white powdered snow.
Finally, the avoidance reaction helps the cell move and can cause other objects to bounce
off of the cells outer membrane. This type of reaction was explained by utilizing the experiment
of placing soap in milk that had been mixed with food coloring. By placing liquid soap in milk,
Running Head: CHEMICAL REACTIONS: COLOR, FOAM, and FLUFF
the fatty molecules in the milk are separated and pushed away. The reasoning for the food
coloring was to provide a visual of this occurrence taking place.
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The State standard that was utilized was standard S5P2, which states that “students will
explain the difference between a physical change and a chemical change”. It was recognized that
the properties of these substances used in each of the three experiments changed during and after
the experimental process. Each of these experiments was videotaped to provide visual examples
of what took place during the entire process.
The lesson plan that was chosen for this project was the UBD, or Understanding by
Design lesson plan. This type of lesson plan utilizes visual learning, which was needed to fully
understand the reactions that took place in the three experiments that were conducted. This
lesson plan also helps to establish goals, provides essential questions, and utilizes technology
during the entire leaning process. This lesson plan is also quite formal and has an easy to
understand layout.
The target audience for this project is fifth grade students. This is due to the fact that the
reactions that were caused by these experiments are for higher elementary educations. Another
reason for the target audience being fifth graders is that level of education, vocabulary skills are
rapidly expanding, and attention spans are rapidly decreasing. This causes teachers to work
harder and come up with fun and exciting ways to teach their students rather than using the age
old chalk board, or dry erase board. These experiments do just that by bringing the students into
an outside environment, allowing group work, visual aids, and hands on learning for the
kinesthetic learners.
Running Head: CHEMICAL REACTIONS: COLOR, FOAM, and FLUFF
The types of technology that are being attempted to integrate into the lesson plan
are; PowerPoint, SmartBoard activities, video clips, and concept maps. The first step was
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providing a concept map of the project, which provided an order of events and main ideas. This
was done so that each individual is aware of what is going to be discussed. The next step was to
form a story board, which is utilized by PowerPoint. The PowerPoint outlined the main ideas that
the group was wishing to incorporate and the order of events in a more story telling setting.
Finally, videos and SmartBoard activities were designed in order to provide interaction not just
with the teacher and students but student to student interaction as well. This type of interaction
would hopefully allow the students to become more engaged on the subject and learn at a faster
and more consistent level.
This project was done with the idea of it being for a future teaching situation. This is due
to the fact that fifth grade classrooms were not utilized during the experiments to determine if
this would be an effective teaching mechanism. It is also unknown if the students would even
enjoy this type of learning environment. It is quite possible that some classrooms are using this
type of learning at the present time, but as for this project, this will be for future teaching
endeavors.
Initial ideas were constructed for arranging the group’s plan and materials on a website
that can be utilized by teachers, students, and their parents. The plan and materials are based on
explaining the terms and reactions in a manner that everyone can understand, and where easy and
effective learning can be achieved. This site would in turn be a site that would provide more fun
and easy experiments that can be performed and can allow the student to think of other possible
experiments that could be done.
Running Head: CHEMICAL REACTIONS: COLOR, FOAM, and FLUFF
These experiments conducted by the group utilized higher learning of volatile reactions,
size and state reactions, and avoidance reactions. These experiments can be done in either a
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classroom setting or in an outdoor setting, can utilize hands on learning, and teamwork, which
can help with the decreasing attention spans of the students. The group also utilized these
projects because they not only utilize the previously stated aspects, but also can utilize
technology such as video, SmartBoard, and internet during the education process, and can even
bring the parents of the students into the learning process as well. Overall, these experiments
provide a great example of types of learning that can be utilized to engage the minds of students
better than sitting in a desk looking at a chalk board for an entire day.
 Students will be familiar with the character of scientific knowledge and how it is
achieved.
 Students will recognize that:
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Similar scientific investigations seldom produce exactly the same results, which
may differ due to unexpected differences in whatever is being investigated,
unrecognized differences in the methods or circumstances of the investigation, or
observational uncertainties.