Bubble-O-Logy

Basic Information

Time Required	Very Short (a day or less)
Prerequisites	None
Material Availability	Readily available
Cost	Rs.1100-Rs.2800
Safety	No issues

Abstract

Making our own bubble solution is fun, but sometimes the bubbles don't seem to work as well as the solutions we buy in the store. In this experiment we can test if adding corn syrup or glycerin to your bubble solution will make it just as good as the stuff we can buy. This experiment will have us blowing bubbles!

 

 

 

 

 

Objective

In this experiment we will test if adding glycerin or corn syrup will improve a mixture of bubble solution.

Everybody loves bubbles! But what makes bubbles form, and float up in the air until they pop?

 

The secret to a good bubble is something called surface tension, an invisible bond that holds water molecules together. Water is a polar molecule, so it has plus and minus ends just like magnets that attract each other. When the water molecules align with each other they stick together, creating surface tension.

We might think that it is the surface tension of the water that holds the skin of a bubble together. Actually, the surface tension of water is too strong to make a bubble. You can try yourself to blow a bubble with plain old water, it just won't work! A good bubble solution has a detergent added to it to relax the surface tension of the water, allowing it to have more elastic, stretchy properties. Now it can act more like the skin of a balloon, stretching out nice and thin, trapping air inside of the bubble like a liquid balloon.

What do we need to make a good bubble solution at home? The basic ingredients are water and detergent. In this experiment, we will add glycerin or corn syrup to see if they can help us make better bubbles. Which solution will make the biggest bubbles? Which bubbles will last the longest?

Materials and Equipment

• Glass mason jars with lids (recycled jars work great)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Distilled Water
• Liquid dishwashing soap (e.g. Dawn)
• Glycerin, small bottle (available at a drugstore or pharmacy)
• Light corn syrup
• Pipe cleaners
• Permanent marker
• Stopwatch

Experimental Procedure

1.      First, make your bubble solutions, and store them in clearly labeled glass mason jars. Use one jar for each different solution and label with the formula using a permanent marker. Here are three basic solutions to try, but notice that the total volume of the solution is kept consistent:

Ingredient	Solution #1  detergent only	Solution #2  detergent + glycerin	Solution #3  detergent + corn syrup
Water	1 cup (240 mL) + 1 Tbsp (15 mL)	1 cup (240 mL)	1 cup (240 mL)
Detergent	2 Tbsp (30 mL)	2 Tbsp (30 mL)	2 Tbsp (30 mL)
Glycerin	-----	1 Tbsp (15 mL)	-----
Corn Syrup	-----	-----	1 Tbsp (15 mL)

2.    Now make a pipe cleaner wand for each solution. Pinch a pipe cleaner in the middle and give it a kink. Bend one half of the pipe cleaner into a circle and twist together at the center. Repeat with the other two pipe cleaners, and check that all three circles are the same diameter.

3.    Go outside and test your bubble solutions. Blow a bubble and catch it on your wand. Immediately start the stopwatch and time how long the bubble lasts. This will take some practice, so try it out on some extra solution before you start!

4.    Repeat the experiment as many times as possible for each solution.

5.    Record your data in a data table:

	Solution #1 - Bubble Time (secs)	Solution #2 - Bubble Time (secs)	Solution #3 - Bubble Time (secs)
Trial 1
Trial 2
. . . . . . .
Trial 20
TOTAL
Average Bubble Time in Seconds

6.    For each bubble solution, calculate the average time in seconds that the bubbles lasted. Do this calculation by adding up all of the data for a solution, and dividing by the number of trials for that solution.

7.    Make a graph of your data. For each solution, make a bar of the average time in seconds that the bubble lasted.

8.    Analyze your data.

              

Soumyadip Sardar 

XI-B

Roll No. 20