EXPERIMENTS:  Bubbles

Experiment 1: Bubble Formula. Materials: White corn syrup, confectioners’ sugar, different kinds of dishwashing soap (such as Joy or Dawn), cup, spoon. You’ll also need a bubble wand, which you can make out of a pipe cleaner or wire. Procedure:

Mix ¼ cup of warm water with 2 tablespoons of one of the dishwashing soaps. Test your concoction. How big can you blow your bubbles? How long do they last in the air? • Now add 1 T. corn syrup. Test your concoction again. Do you notice any difference in your bubbles? • Now add 1 T. of confectioners’ sugar. Stir until all ingredients are completely dissolved. Try your solution one last time. Are your bubbles getting any bigger?

Extensions: Try a different combination of detergents and thickening agents. Which of your formulas produces bigger bubbles? (Hint: the more detergent used, the bigger the bubble! What other hypotheses can you make and test out?) Also try building differently sized bubble wands out of pipe cleaners or wires. How big can you blow your bubbles now?

Hint: One of the strongest, most sturdy bubble solutions can be made by combining 2 parts Dawn or Joy brand detergent with 4 parts glycerin (available at most drug stores) and 1 part white Karo brand syrup (available at most grocery stores).

Experiment 2: Are Bubbles Always Round? Materials: pipe cleaners. Procedure: Bend pipe cleaners into as many shapes as you can think of – square, heart, triangle, etc. Can you get your bubble to take the shape of your wand??