Title
Sizzle and Fizzle of Bath Bombs: An Inexpensive and Accessible Kinetics Experiment
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
Cosmetic chemistry is a prevalent part of everyday life, but there are very few undergraduate laboratories that explore this topic. Here, we present a laboratory exercise in which students use fizzing bath tablets (better known as “bath bombs”) to learn about introductory kinetics. Students created their own bath bombs by combining citric acid, baking soda, and Epsom salts and reacted them at a range of temperatures. Students observed a trend consistent with the Arrhenius equation and collision theory: the reaction time decreased as the temperature of the water increased. This experiment is ideal for first year undergraduate chemistry courses and was met with excitement and enthusiasm from the students who tested it. The experiment uses readily available and inexpensive ingredients, making it very accessible and an attractive demonstration for outreach events.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b01110
Recommended Citation
Cabassa, M. & Haas, B. L. (2020). Sizzle and fizzle of bath bombs: An inexpensive and accessible kinetics experiment. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(6), 1629-1632. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b01110 Please note that the Recommended Citation may not be appropriate for your discipline. For help with other citation styles, please visit http://libguides.misericordia.edu/citationguide.