Hot Science Experiments How-Tos

How To: Make iodine easily

In this video, we learn how to make iodine easily. You will need potassium iodine and sulfuric acid to make this. First, add the acid into the potassium iodine slowly. After you add in each part, swirl the beaker slowly so it gets mixed together. After you have added in all of the potassium, you will place this into a beaker filled with ice water while you add in more, because the mixture gets really hot. When finished, you will end up with a mixture that is iodine and nothing else. Fill with...

Classic Chemistry: Colorize Colorless Liquids with "Black" Magic, AKA the Iodine Clock Reaction

Want to make boring old colorless water brighten up on command? Well, you can control the color of water with this little magic trick. Actually, it's not really magic, but a classic science experiment known commonly as the iodine clock reaction, which uses the reactions between water and chemicals to instantly colorize water, seemingly by command. You can use different colorless chemicals to produce different colors, and you can even make the color vanish to make the water clear again.

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: Make Water Droplets "Levitate" on Water (Using Vibrations)

You can take some really awesome photos of water droplets if you've got a fast enough camera (and flash), but water drops aren't just spectacular as photographic subjects—you can also make them a part of the photographic process by using a water drop as a DIY projection microscope and even a macro lens for your iPhone. But as useful as a water drop can be, it's still way cooler when they're in front of the camera (as the subject). Recently, researchers from the National Autonomous University ...

How To: Make an erupting volcano with soap

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make an erupting volcano with soap. Begin by adding some vinegar into a flask/baker. Then add some soap into the vinegar and stir it by shaking the flask/baker. Users may choose to add some food coloring to make the mix look more like lava. In a separate, add some water and baking soda. Then stir it to mix. Pour the baking soda solution into the soap and vinegar mixture. This video will benefit those viewers who are interested in science and experi...

How To: Draw the Lewis dot structures for 2 types of alcohol

In this video, you will learn how to draw the Lewis Dot structure for CH3CH2OH, or drinking alcohol. To draw the first type of alcohol, draw H, C, C, O, and H horizontally. Now draw, an H above and below both C. Draw the dot structures in between each letter. Hydrogen has one valance electrons, Carbon has four, and Oxygen has six. Now, connect the Lewis Dot Structures. If you are given C2H6O, write down C, O, and C horizontally. Draw a line between the O and the C's. The Carbons will have thr...

How To: Make hydrochloric acid from salt

In this tutorial, we learn how to make hydrochloric acid from salt. First, you will pour some salt into a distil flask. After this, you will add in some concentrated sulfuric acid to the salt. Next, you will let these react with each other. You will start to see gasses bubble up and the excess hydrogen chloride gas come out through the top of the tube. To create a stronger reaction, you can add heat underneath the reaction. Then, test this by exposing it to ammonium chloride. If it's the righ...

How To: Make boric acid from borax

This is a video tutorial in the Education category where you are going to learn how to make boric acid from borax. For this experiment you will need borax (disodium tetra borate) and conc. hydrochloric acid. Take 25 ml of hydrochloric acid and dilute it with 75 ml of water. Next take 6 - 7 gms of borax and dissolve it in boiling water. Now add equal amount of hydrochloric acid. Crystals of boric acid will start forming. They are completely insoluble in cold water. After about half an hour, fi...

How To: Isolate the sugar in a can of soda

In this video from ScienceOnTheBrain we learn how to isolate the sugar in a can of soda. To find out how much sugar is in soda, pour a can into a pot and boil it until all the water is gone. You will be left with the sugar, and then you can weigh it. First weigh your pot before pouring the soda in. Now boil the soda on the stovetop. When the water evaporates, you'll be left with a syrupy sugar. A can of soda has 39 grams of sugar in it. That equates to about 7 1/2 teaspoons. Fruit juice conta...

How To: There's Metal Hiding in Your Pepto-Bismol and Here's How You Extract It

Got an upset stomach or a little heartburn? America's favorite pink pill will cure it right up. But did you know that there's actually metal hiding in those chewable Pepto-Bismol tablets? Yes, metal. Technically, it's a poor metal, but metal's metal, right? Well, we do tend to eat a lot of iron in our diets, because it carries oxygen throughout our bodies, so consuming metallic minerals isn't anything abnormal. But you'd never think that Pepto-Bismol is actually made up of metal.

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