Paul Andersen Paul Andersen

Milk and Soap Experiment

Description:  Milk is made up of water, fat, and proteins. Each of these molecules have charges and are held together by intramolecular forces. When the dish soap is added to the plate it quickly disperses across the surface as it is attracted to the water molecules and the food coloring is pulled along. This could be used as an anchoring phenomenon on matter, materials, or intramolecular forces.

Web Resource:  Colors on the Mooooove - ACS

Watch what happens when you put a drop of dish detergent into a plate layered with milk and food coloring! James Kessler explains the chemistry that causes this tie-dye-like reaction and gives a demonstration for kids to follow along with at home. Try the experiment at home! http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/adventures-in-chemistry/experiments/colors-move.html Subscribe! http://bit.ly/AmerChemSOc Facebook!
 
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Paul Andersen Paul Andersen

Ice Cube Spikes

Description:  Ice cube spikes form when the exterior of the ice cube freezes first and the expanding water from the inside is forced out through a small hole or weak spot in the exterior. The phenomenon can be used to show the reversible change of freezing in elementary or the intermolecular forces between molecules in high school chemistry.

Web Resource: Spikes on Ice Cubes

Uploaded by bloo777 on 2016-01-03.
 
Why do spikes form on ice cubes? Without them the world would be vastly different. Awesome Jingle by Accent: http://bit.ly/AccentVe Thanks to Prof. Stephen Morris from UofT: http://bit.ly/1GFANBE Filmed in part by Martin Marek in Olomouc, Czech Republic Time lapse of a growing ice spike by Lesley Hill, Russ Sampson and Edward Lozowski, with technical help by Kenny Lozowski.
 
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Paul Andersen Paul Andersen

Gecko Feet

Description:  The foot of a gecko has folds upon folds upon folds. This increases the surface area between the foot of the gecko and the surface it is climbing on. Intermolecular forces between the two surfaces allows the gecko to scale vertical surfaces. This phenomenon can be used as an introduction to biomimicry or as an application of intermolecular forces.

Web Resources: Gecko Feet Inspire Climbing Space Robots, How Do Geckos’ Feet Work?

Sir David Attenborough narrates this fascinating investigation into the curious sticking power of the humble gecko. Brilliant wildlife video from BBC natural history show Space Age Reptiles.
 
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Paul Andersen Paul Andersen

Floating Whiteboard Ink

Description:
I learned about this phenomenon when a teacher spilled their water on my whiteboard.  Make sure to use a plate with an impermeable surface.  It's a great phenomenon for intermolecular forces.  Surface chemistry, temperature, color, ink type, polarity, salinity, and many more factors affect this phenomenon.  

Web Resources:  Drawing on Water - It is so surreal  - YouTube

Discovered this when a teacher spilled his water on my whiteboard.
 
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