Hot Science Experiments How-Tos

How To: Make your own thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates

The price of TLC plates can add up. See how to make thin-layer chromatography plates (TLC plates) for a few cents each that are as good as commercial TLC plates that sell for a dollar or two each. You can use these home-made TLC plates the same way you'd use chromatography paper, but the plates provide sharper separations and require far less analyte. They also lie flat, and are much easier to store for later reference. For more information, including step-by-step instructions, and to get sta...

How To: Do a yeast experiment to see how much C02 it produces

In this Education video tutorial you will learn how to do a yeast experiment to see how much C02 it produces with different types of food. Yeast is a fungus and it has to eat. After it eats, it produces CO2 gas. The bubbles in bread are produced by the CO2 gas from the yeast. Take five different types of food items and measure out the same quantity for each item. In the video it is 8gms of cookie, oil, flour, salt and sugar. Take six glasses of water and mix one packet of yeast in each glass....

How To: Measure the volume of a balloon

Here we will demonstrate how to measure the volume of a balloon. A balloon is not a straight edged polygon shape, usually, so the mathematical equations get that much harder, on the flip side, it may be a spherical or ovalish shape, but measurements with math alone are detrimental due to the uneven sizes of the balloon. Here is how to do it properly. You will need a bucket, preferably, to hold water, a larger container than your original bucket, and a measuring container. Place the bucket ins...

How To: Experiment the law of inertia

Newtons proposed the concept of inertia. According to him an object at rest tends to stay at test and an object in motion tends to continue in motions unless acted up on by an external force. This is the principle of inertia. The tendency of the body to continue to stay as it was is called its inertia. You can demonstrate this principle with a simple experiment. As shown in the video when the hoop is pulled out the pen cap falls in to the bottle. Here the hoop is acted upon but the cap is not...

How To: Draw the Lewis structure for carbon dioxide & methanol

In this Education video tutorial you are going to learn how to draw the Lewis structure for carbon dioxide & methanol. Carbon dioxide is CO2. Oxygen atoms don’t bond together. So, carbon atom has to be in the center. Oxygen has 6 valence electrons and carbon has 4. Hence, carbon wants to form 4 bonds and each oxygen atom wants to form 2 bonds. So, two each electrons of carbon will bond with 2 electrons of each oxygen atom. The Lewis structure for CO2 will be ( …. O=C=O….). The 4 dots within t...

How To: Make hot ice using Sodium Acetate Trihydrate

This video in the Education category will show you how to make hot ice using Sodium Acetate Trihydrate. For this purpose you will need a pan, 100g of Sodium Acetate Trihydrate, 25ml of water, a wooden spoon and a glass. Take the Sodium Acetate Trihydrate and put 100g in the pan. Then place the pan on a stove and turn to medium heat. The Sodium Acetate Trihydrate will start to melt. In about five minutes when it has melted fully, add 25ml of water. Let the solution simmer for two minutes while...

How To: Make hydrogen gas & an explosion

First you need to make hydrogen gas which require a few material. Such as a glass bottle, a Full table spoon of aluminum (beer or soda can will work), a half a cup of cold water, a table spoon or two of caustic soda, a funnel, a medium size container of water, a way of cutting the aluminum, one or two balloon's, and some safety glasses just incase something goes wrong.

How To: Turn Your Computer into a Pulse Monitor

Have you ever wanted to see your heartbeat, but without the stress of having to be in the hospital? You can with this easy, step-by-step guide to turn your computer in a pulse monitor to check your heart rate from the comfort of your own chair. Check the beating of your heart after a workout to see how fast your blood is pumping or watch it drop after a soothing day at the spa or a nice bubble bath. The easy to follow video tutorial is set to a funky beat that is sure to get your blood (and f...

How To: Make crystal iodine

MAKE brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. Make Magazine celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will. In this tutorial, Robert Bruce Thompson shows you how to make crystal iodine. As Thompson says in the video, crystal iodine is currently a schedule one compound, and in order to buy you have to fill out a lot of paperwork and you'll end up on a DEA list. This tutorial gets you around that, but proceed carefully.

How To: Make TCPO (for making glow sticks)

How to make TCPO or bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate, used in glow stick reactions. WARNING: This procedure should only be performed by, or under the direct supervision of, an experienced chemist. Please refer to the material safety data sheets of all chemicals for their hazards. Synthesis must be performed in a fumehood.

How To: Make burning soap bubbles

Learn how to make bubbles burn in this science video tutorial. You will see exactly how to make burning bubbles, with aerosol spray deodorant, a bowl of water, and liquid soap. It's a pretty simple experiment -- you just pour some dish soap in the water, stir it, then spray the deodorant can while submerged in water. The final step is lighting the burning bubbles on fire. Yeah!

How To: Turn a penny into gold with common chemicals

This science experiment will show you how to turn a penny into gold with common chemicals. This video tutorial will demonstrate turning the copper penny into a silver penny and into a gold cent. All you need to make gold pennies is sodium hydroxide (also known as lye), zinc powder, a small glass beaker with some distilled water in it, a clean copper penny, a couple of measuring spoons, and a glass stirring rod.

How To: Manipulate your voice with sulfur hexafluoride gas

Lance Lund, a professor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, was asked to prepare a promotional science video for the college back in 1995 that was to air on a local cable access channel. All went well until he inhaled some sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The video never aired, but many more of you from around the world will be able to enjoy this right here.