Elephant's Toothpaste

One of the most exciting classes I conduct in my chemistry classroom is the Elephant's Toothpaste demonstration.  While, this is an old standard and some students have seen it on You Tube or in other science classes, it never fails to capture the student's attention and create opportunities for discussion.

I conduct the demo in a 5 L graduate cylinder. I place the cylinder in an equipment tray placed on a tarp to protect the floor from overflow.

Pour 250 mL of 30% Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) to the cylinder and add 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap to the peroxide.  Dawn is preferable, but any dish soap will work.  I drip food coloring down the sides of the cylinder to provide the toothpaste striping. I then add 4-6 grams of Potassium Iodide (KI)  to the solution. Step back and enjoy the reaction, both from the cylinder and the students. 

I do not ask students to complete a lab write-up for this demonstration.  I instead use the opportunity to  discuss rates of reaction. I will have students touch the surface of the cylinder with the back of their hand to feel the heat produced by the reaction and discuss endothermic and exothermic reactions.   There are a multitude of topics that can be discussed from this reaction.

However most important is the discussions that start with the students questioning, why does that happen? Will other types of salt do that? What if we used ....?  Why did we add the soap?  That is when the thinking begins and the learning takes over.
  

Characteristics for a Thinking Attitude

As a teacher do you instill in your students the characteristics necessary to have a Thinking Attitude.

Patience                     

In a microwave world, learning does not take place in a manner of  seconds. Learning is a process and does not happen in a 22 minute time frame, like an 80's sit-com.  Understanding takes time and therefore both students and teachers must demonstrate the patience necessary for the learning to take place.

Curiosity                    

Students must be able to ask the questions that develop a path to understanding. Too often, students become satisfied with the, Who? What? and When? Students must feel secure enough look deeper and be willing to search for the How? Why? and What if? of each situation.

Concentration            

Students need to have the ability to remain focused through the completion of the learning process.  Maintaining concentration through observation, questioning, data collection, argument, testing and conclusion.  Students need the stamina of mind to stay the course.

Respect for the Evidence        

Details, details, details.  Do students value every piece of evidence every bit of the data, each portion of the argument. Can students gather research with an eye for the validity and effectiveness of the information.

Skepticism                 

Students must embrace the idea that all that seems true, may not be true. The ability to question the evidence to validate the validity of the information.

Acceptance of Others Perspectives           

Respect for each person and an inclusive community help to create a classroom where students can safely share their opinions without fear of being judged.  It is through the sharing of different points of view that students gain insight into the ideas of their classmates and perspectives on the lesson at hand.

John Wooden's - Five Things to Share

In the book, The Essential Wooden, A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, John Wooden shares a list of the important things to share.

Five Things To Share.

Share the Work

Share the Credit

Share the Enthusiasm

Share the Information

Share the Love, Care and Concern

Sharing the work is a natural part of the educational process.  That sharing takes place on many levels in the classroom, between teacher and student, student to student, as well as students in a collaborative group. Students must engage in sharing, whether it is the knowledge the work or ideas. It is the idea that the educational process is more efficient if we embody the concept of TEAM, Together, Each, Achieves, More.

Sharing the credit is often a very difficult idea to get across to students who have been brought up believing that you are measured by the grades you have or the honors you receive.  Students need to create value not for what they accomplish but for who they are.  Students who can measure their success through satisfaction of knowing who they are and understanding the value of their own individuality are typically not concerned about getting credit, but are more concerned with the overall success of those who surround them.

Sharing the enthusiasm extends from the value of passion for all we do. The Lasallian term for this is zeal.  The difference between good and great typically correlates directly to passion for the work.  That enthusiasm is a direct result of the passion demonstrated by the teacher for the subject being taught. That same passion can be contagious amongst the students and even in return to the teacher.

Sharing the information is the basis of the educational process. Sharing comes through clear communication between educator and student and student to student. Realizing, that students learn and communicate utilizing a varying range of modalities.

Sharing the Love, Care and Concern, is the basis by which an educator maximizes the educational process for each student by creating a classroom environment that is inclusive and based upon mutual respect and trust:  an environment where students can approach the unknown with little or no fear, an environment where students are allowed to make mistakes as a part of the learning process, an environment where students are encouraged to participate fully in the learning process.  

Favorite Learning Quotes

A reminder of the simplicity of learning and the complexity of it's outcomes for both those who educate and those who are being educated.



Aluminum Boats, Pennies and Archimedes

 Fact or Fiction?: Archimedes Coined the Term "Eureka!" in the Bath

  

A 10cm x 10cm piece of aluminum foil, 30cm x 1.9cm length of scotch tape and a handful of pennies, now figure out what makes a battleship float.

For five years now, I have utilized aluminum boat building as a means of having students discover he principles of buoyancy.  Students work collaboratively to create an aluminum foil boat that will float while supporting the greatest number of pennies without sinking.  Each students is given three 10cm x 10cm pieces of aluminum foil and three 30cm pieces of tape to design three boats.  Each boat will be placed in a tub of water.  Students will test the buoyancy of their design by adding pennies to the boat until the boat sinks.

Students collaborate to evaluate and critique each boat for the effectiveness as a penny cargo ship.  Typically students will work in lab groups of four or five members and will evaluate the buoyancy principles of as many as 15 different designs.  Students collect data on the mass of the boats, mass of the pennies, surface area of the boat and water displacement.  Utilizing this information they can work through what makes an object float and associate these concepts using Archimedes Principles.

Students experience research and design concepts in a very simple lab while applying the physics concepts for buoyancy that allow an air craft carrier or cruise ship to float.