Educational Materials About Bubbles
Material from (6/28/2020):
http://scactivities.cikeys.com/giant-bubbles/
Explanation
PK – grade 3 students
Bubbles are made up of a mixture of water and soap. You can make different mixtures of the bubble solution and this will determine how long your bubble will last. You can also add an ingredient called, glycerin, which can help the bubbles last longer. You can make the bubbles that are small, big (big enough for a person to stand in), of different shapes and you can even add scents to them! If you look at them, you can observe a rainbow.
Grade 4 – 6 students
Bubbles are made up of a mixture of water and soap. You can make different mixtures of the bubble solution and this will determine how long your bubble will last. You can also add an ingredient called, glycerin, which can help the bubbles last longer. Bubbles are made of layers, there are two outer soap layer and a water layer in the middle. You can make the bubbles that are small, big, of different shapes and you can even add scents to them. When you look at the bubble, you can see a rainbow pattern at certain angles.
Middle school students
There are unique characteristics of the formation of bubbles that involve chemistry, they are a mixture of soap and water. Bubbles are made of layers that have hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. Hydrophobic are “phobic” or afraid or water and hydrophilic are water loving. The two outer soap layers have their hydrophilic heads facing the water layer that is in the middle, and their hydrophobic tails away from the water layer. A way to make bubbles longer-lasting and stronger is by adding Glycerol, and this is due to the fact that Glycerol forms hydrogen bonds with water. Even though hydrogen bonds are weak, many of them can create a strong connection, and in turn will slow down evaporation of the bubble. When viewing a bubble at a certain angle, a rainbow-like pattern can be seen due to light diffraction through the bubble. This activity demonstrates the unique properties of bubbles, including how soap and water play a large role in the formation of the bubble.
College-level/ scientific description
There are unique characteristics of the formation of bubbles that involve chemistry. Bubbles are made of layers that have hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties The two outer soap layers have their hydrophilic heads facing the water layer that is in the middle, and their hydrophobic tails away from the water layer. Surface tension plays a role because the hydrogen atoms of a water molecule are attracted to the oxygen atoms of another water molecule. Surface tension holds the soap molecules together while the air inside tries to break them apart. Due to this, bubbles try to become spheres. The shape minimizes the surface area and requires the least amount of energy. Also, when viewing a bubble at a certain angle, a rainbow-like pattern can be seen due to light diffraction through the bubble. A way to make bubbles longer-lasting and stronger is by adding Glycerol, and this is due to the fact that Glycerol forms hydrogen bonds with water. Even though hydrogen bonds are weak, many of them can create a strong connection, and in turn will slow down evaporation of the bubble. This activity demonstrates the unique properties of bubbles, including how soap and water play a large role in the formation of the bubble. The bubble has certain aspects that are water-loving and also water-hating that make it stick together and form the actual bubble. The sphere shape of the bubble is due to surface tension between the inside and outside of the bubble, and since objects want to use the least amount of energy, the sphere is the shape that uses a small surface area. When a chemical known as Glycerol is added to the bubble solution, it allows the bubble to stay intact longer because it forms hydrogen bonds that strengthen the interactions.
