Ivory Soap Experiment

This week has been filled with fun and experiments!

Showcased is the Ivory soap experiment. What kid doesn't enjoy seeing things blow up in the microwave?

Ivory bar soap has been known for its purity, versatility, and ability to float. It is soft, and safe for many skin types. But did you know that you can turn it into a big, soapy marshmallow, too?

 

You will need Ivory soap and a plate. Unwrap the soap and put it in the middle of the plate. place inside of microwave for 2 minutes.

Watch carefully.

This is what our first bar looked like once it blew up.

And this is what our second bar looked like. We did 3 bars of soap.

• The expanding effect is caused by the heating of the water that is inside the soap. The water vaporizes, forming bubbles; the heat also causes trapped air to expand. Likewise, the heat causes the soap itself to soften and become pliable.
• This experiment will make your kitchen and microwave smell like Ivory Soap! Don't worry, the perfume dissipates and will not linger.

• This experiment requires adult supervision and permission to use the microwave oven.
• Use a microwave safe plate only.
• Keep face away from microwave when removing soap.
• The bowl will be hot when taken out of the microwave.

What are you learning?
Charles' law states that as the temperature of the gas increases so does it's volume. The soap is heated, the molecules of air in the soap move faster causing them to move far away from each other. This causes the soap to puff up and expand to an enormous size.

 

We played with it after it cooled...

  

Then instead of throwing it away, we recycled it! To do this simply reheat the soap bits in a pot, and a touch of water and whatever else you want. We used oatmeal and ground cloves. Lavender buds or rose petals would be lovely too. The cloves turned our a rich brown.

We then molded them into different shapes

When they were set, I then laid them out on paper to cure over night. I need to do this again, as they are still very moist and we plan to put these in little gift sacks, tie some raffia on the end and possibly some cones or spring flowers and give them as gifts. They smell heavenly! 

Essortment.com had this to say about how Ivory soap began to float.

The concept of soap that floats was rumored to have been encountered by accident. The story goes that Harley Procter named the soap ‘Ivory’ from a biblical verse (Psalm 45) church: “All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made me glad.” In 1878, the formula for the “White Soap” was created. Several months later the accident occurred. Without thinking one of the workmen left to go to lunch and the machinery was still running. Since the machinery was left in operation, air would work its way into the mixture. The workman decided not to discard the mixture after discussing with his supervisor. Instead he poured mixture into frames and the soap hardened. Interestingly enough it was cut, packaged, and shipped.
Amazingly, Procter & Gamble began to receive letters from buyers of this "accidental" soap. They wanted more of the soap that floats! Even though this interesting formula was one of their best products, they were perplexed as to how this happened. The mysterious formula for the floating soap was resolved when the lunchtime accident was revealed.

The error the workman made became Procter & Gamble’s new product. Why was this product so popular? Some people were known to bathe in the Ohio River and the floating soap would never get lost. Ivory Soap became a best seller due to a workman’s error. Proctor & Gamble makes the floating soap by intentionally adding a small amount of air in the formula. Naturally, this allows the soap to be lighter than water.