ACTIVITY: PICTURES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS

1. Thermite and Ice

The thermite reaction basically is an example of what happens when metal burns. What happens if you perform the thermite reaction on a block of ice? You get a spectacular explosion! The reaction is so stupendous that the Mythbusters team tested it and verified it was real.

2. Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Clock

This chemical reaction is amazing because it involves a cyclic color change. A colorless solution cycles through clear, amber, and deep blue for several minutes.

3. Hot Ice or Sodium Acetate

Sodium acetate is a chemical that can be supercooled. This means it can remain a liquid below its normal freezing point. The amazing part of this reaction is initiating crystallization. Pour supercooled sodium acetate onto a surface and it will solidify as you watch, forming towers and other interesting shapes. The chemical also is known as 'hot ice' because the crystallization occurs at room temperature, producing crystals that resemble ice cubes.

4. Colored Fire Rainbow

When metal salts are heated, the ions emit various colors of light. If you heat the metals in a flame, you get colored fire. While you can't simply mix different metals together to get a rainbow fire effect, if you line them up in a row, you can get all the colored flames.

5. Elephant Toothpaste Reaction The elephant toothpaste reaction is the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by the iodide ion. The reaction produces a ton of hot, steamy foam, plus it can be colored or even striped to resemble certain toothpastes. Why is it called the 'elephant toothpaste reaction'? Only an elephant tusk needs a strip of toothpaste as wide as the one produced by this amazing reaction!

6. Super cool Water

If you chill water below its freezing point, it doesn't always freeze. Sometimes it supercools, which allows you to make it freeze on command. Aside from looking very cool, the crystallization of supercooled water into ice is a great reaction because just about anyone can obtain a bottle of water to try it out for themselves.

7. Magnesium and Dry Ice Reaction

When ignited, magnesium produces a very bright light. It's why handheld sparkler fireworks are so brilliant. While you may think fire requires oxygen, this reaction demonstrates carbon dioxide and magnesium participate in a displacement reaction that produces fire without oxygen gas. When you light magnesium inside a block of dry ice, you get brilliant light.

8. Dancing Gummi Bear Reaction

The Dancing Gummi Bear is a reaction between sugar and potassium chlorate, producing violet fire and a lot of heat. It's an excellent introduction to the art of pyrotechnics because sugar and potassium chlorate are representative of a fuel and oxidizer, such as you might find in fireworks. There's nothing magical about the Gummi Bear. You can use any candy to supply the sugar. Depending on how you perform the reaction, you may get more of an immolation than a bear tango. It's all good.

9. Sodium and Chlorine Reaction

Sodium and chlorine react to form sodium chloride or table salt. Sodium metal and chlorine gas don't do much on their own until a drop of water is added to get things going. This is an extremely exothermic reaction that generates a lot of heat and light.

10. Super cooled water

Everything about this image seems wrong. If water is cold enough to freeze, it should be frozen, right? Waters freezing/melting point is 0C, but the crystallization process needs some sort of impurity or nucleation site to begin. Thats not a problem most of the time, but very pure distilled water in a smooth container can become colder than freezing without crystallizing. Here, super cooled water is poured out, and the disturbance causes it to crystallize instantly.