Kate's Corner: Elephant Toothpaste

In this Kate's Corner we are making an erupting bottle of toothpaste big enough for an elephant. We'll call it Elephant Toothpaste.

Here's what you'll need:

- A plastic bottle

- Dish soap

- Food coloring (optional)

- 12% Hydrogen peroxide (40 volume that you can find any hair beauty shop)

- 1 tablespoon or one packet of dry yeast

- 3 tablespoons of warm water

In your plastic bottle, combine about 1/2 a cup of the hydrogen peroxide solution, some dish soap, and food coloring. Swirl The bottle around to mix them together. In another cup, mix together the yeast and warm water.

Now this yeast mixture will act as our catalyst. Pour it into the plastic bottle and step back. Your toothpaste erupts out of your bottle.

So what's happening here? The yeast acts as a catalyst that kicks off the chemical reaction. The oxygen molecules from the hydrogen peroxide are released. If you touch the bottle, you'll notice it is warm. This is from the chemical reaction creating heat. This is called a exothermic reaction.