Does anyone know any simple nontoxic science experiments?

Question

I have already done vinegar and baking soda, floating raisins, made a cornstarch suspension. The experiment has to be done in under 20 minutes and I can't use a stove or microwave. The experiments have to be nontoxic in case the students eat it.

I have already done vinegar and baking soda, floating raisins, made a cornstarch suspension. The experiment has to be done in under 20 minutes and I can't use a stove or microwave. The experiments have to be nontoxic in case the students eat it. I also cannot use fire.

General Science. It is a special education classroom. The experiment can't include toxic materials, glass, or fire. Some of the comments I have are great, but use toxic materials, glass, and fire.

Answer 1

Do one on the surface tension of water......get a saucer of water, and sprinkle pepper in it. Then, add 1 drop of dish detergent...and watch the magic! (Hint: The soap breaks the surface tension of the water) Have fun!

Answer 2

You didn't say what branch of science and what age range, but kids are impressed with a density column, especially if you use food coloring in the dull substances. Get a tall, fat test tube and gently pour substances in. I don't remember the order, but you can experiment at home first: corn syrup, lamp oil, water, honey, rubbing alcohol. Look around the house and you can probably find other things to use, too. Put the densest one in first and the least dense at the top. You can drop small objects in, like lego blocks, coins or bits of wax or wood to explore density.

You could do liquid paper chromatography. What is green food coloring made of? Can you divide it into its parts? Cut coffee filters into strips a couple of inches across. Fill a beaker with about half an inch of water. Put a single drop of food coloring about an inch up on the coffee filter. (Markers might work, too, and would be less messy, but I've never tried it myself.) Dip the end of the filter into the water, being careful not to let the drop itself touch the water. If you'd like, you can wrap the top of the filter around a pencil and lay it across the top of the beaker; otherwise you'll have to watch carefully and hold it up. As the water creeps up the coffee filter, it will carry the color with it and eventually separate the green into its blue and yellow.

Answer 3

H2O2 (Hydrogen peroxide) and a packet of yeast, in a beaker, capped with a stopper and a rubber tube, will make almost pure O2. Fill a test tube held upside down, under water with it (So the students can see the gas bubbling out), then light and extinguish a toothpick. Remove the test tube from the water, keeping it inverted. Put the toothpick inside it, and it will burst into flame again. Or use the pure O2 to demonstrate iron oxide (rust) on bits of steel put inside these tubes. Use a control group of tubes filled with normal room air. Remember to keep the moisture content of each as close to identical as possible.

Answer 4

buy a glowstick, the reaction between the two chemicals inside causes a ghostly glow. If you had a way, you could heat it up and warm it, showing how it gets brighter when it's hot and dimmer when it's cold.