Everyday Reactions

Tech:
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Essay:

Combining everyday household products is potentially dangerous. When mixing any products within a home, always check to make sure that it's safe.  I found that even mixing Dr. Pepper and salt gets a reaction. When cleaning a bathroom, always check that its safe to mix the cleaners or soaps being used because they can be life threatening. Lots of people know old tricks such as putting Mentos in Coke, but there are tons of other reactions you can find in any home.

I found that combining the simplest of products something can happen. A lot of people overlook the fact that reactions are everywhere. How do you think foaming cleaners foam? By reacting to whatever is on the surface you are applying it to. Reactions happen when two or more substances come in contact with each other and have ingredients that cause anything from explosions to plain odors. So from Scrubbing Bubbles and Mr. Clean to burning wood, reactions are all around.

Once I decided to test some of the combinations I researched, I discovered that most of the research I had originally found was supported. My first test was to see if gummy bears would melt in boiling water or stay the way that they were. My research said that they would melt and when I tested it I found that they did. The next test that I conducted was to see which has more of a reaction, combining salt and Dr Pepper or garlic salt and Dr. Pepper. The research I found said that salt would create a larger reaction and I would have to agree after conduction my experiment. Another test I tried was putting a can of either regular or diet lemon-lime soda in the snow for a two day period. I found that the regular has more a reaction. This supports the research I found. Overall, most of my results supported my research.

The one type of combination that I wouldn't try is cleaning substances. Different chemicals in cleaning solutions can cause lots of diseases and problems when mixed together. Once combined they can cause breathing problems, other lung diseases, and other fatal issues that could potentially lead to death. Even name brand and high quality products aren't necessarily safe when mixed. People have reported breathing problems after they mixed big products such as Mr. Clean and KABOOM. Overall, just know to watch out for what is getting mixed and be sure to look at labels.

Since some everyday products can create chemical reactions always check labels and make sure it is safe. There are some obvious ones like Coke and Mentos, but how about bathroom cleaners. How about gummy bears. Testing some combinations has really opened my eyes to see just how many different reactions can happen in any body's house. To conclude, mixing products at home shouldn't be taken too seriously when it comes to candy and soda, just be careful when using detergent or cleaner brands.

Self Reflection:
I think that I did my best work on this project. I think that I spent more time doing things and I think that I overall had a good outcome. I think I could do better on using more resources and making my task analysis accurate. Overall though I think I did pretty good.

Goals for next project:
- To use more resources
- Have more accurate task analysis

Scientific Process:

Problem:
What happens when you combine different household products?
Hypothesizes:
I thought for the two minute gummy bear test that half of the gummy bears would melt because since they contain gelatin, the candies are able to melt if heated enough.  For the five minute test I thought that all of the gummy bears would melt because they would be in longer and would have more time to melt.  For the salt and Dr. Pepper test I thought that the bowl would over flow while the garlic salt wouldn't do anything.  For the can of soda in the snow test I thought that the diet would not do anything while the regular soda would explode.  Finally, I thought that putting sugar in cran-grapefruit juice would have more of a reaction that sweetener.
Experimental Design:
Materials-
• Gummy bears
• Water
• Pot
• Stove
• Strainer
• Sink
• Timer
• Dr. Pepper
• Salt
• Garlic Salt
• Large bowl
• Can of regular soda(not coke)
• Can of diet soda (not coke)
• Snow
• Cran-grapefruit juice
• Sugar
• Sweetener
Variables:
Gummy bear
CV- Amount of gummy bears, stove, and amount of water
IV- Time that they are boiling
DV- The water temperature
Dr. Pepper
CV- Amount of Dr. Pepper, amount of added salt, and the bowl.
IV- Kind of salt
Soda in snow
CV- Roughly the same temperature and same type of soda
IV- Whether the soda is diet or regular
EV- The amount of snow
Cran-grapefruit
CV- Amount of sugar or sweetener, amount of juice, and kind of juice.
IV- Whether I used sugar or sweetener
Procedure:
Gummy bear
First what I did was I gathered all of my materials needed for this test.  Next, I placed the pot on the stove, before it's hot, and added two cups of water.  Next I placed in ten gummy bears.  Then I turned the heat to high and waited for it to boil.  Once it did, I had it boil for two minutes.  After two minutes I took the pot over to my sink and dumped into a strainer to see if they all had melted.   Afterward, I went back to the stove and, on a different burner, repeated putting in two cups of water and ten gummy bears, turning the heat to high, and now I waited for five minutes.  Once the time was up, I did the same thing.  I took the pot over to the sink and dumped it into a strainer.
Dr. Pepper
My first step was to gather all of my materials for this test.  Next I took the large bowl and added a tablespoon of regular salt.  After that, I poured in a liter of Dr. Pepper and waited.  Once I recorded what happened I dumped the bowl into the sink.  My next step was to put in a tablespoon of garlic salt into the bowl.  Finally I put the last liter of Dr. Pepper in and waited to record my results.
Can of soda
First I got a can of regular lemon-lime soda and diet lemon-lime soda and put them in my fridge.  Next I took the diet can outside and place it completely in the snow just before I left for school.  The next day after school I checked to see if anything happened.  The day after that I put the regular soda in the snow at the same time and waited the same number of days.  I recorded my results and took the can out of the snow.
Cran-grapefruit
First I had to convince my dad to take me to Panera.  Next, I took a soft drink cup and filled it with their cran-grapefruit juice.  After that, I took a packet of sugar and went into the bathroom.  I dumped in the sugar over the sink to see what would happen.  Finally, I refilled my cup and did the same process as the sugar, but with sweetener this time. 
Observations:




Conclusion: 
All of the tests were pretty accurate though there were some external variables.  For the putting a can of soda in the soda test, the external variable was that for the regular soda it was completely covered in snow because of the big downfall we got and it probably wouldn't have any room to do anything.  Also the test with Dr. Pepper the external variable was that there might have been some salt in with the garlic salt because I used the same measuring spoon.  Though overall the tests were mostly accurate.
Sites:
• "Bathroom Safety Tips | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/way_5467682_bathroom-safety-tips.html>.
• Category. "Chemistry in Everyday Life - Articles, Home Experiments, How Things Work." Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/Chemistry_in_Everyday_Life.htm>.
• Sandhyarani, Ningthoujam. "Chemical Reactions in Everyday Life." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/chemical-reactions-in-everyday-life.html>.
• "URGENT!!! HELP!!! I just mixed 3 different bathroom cleaners, am i going to die?!??!??? please help? - Yahoo! Answers." Yahoo! Answers - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100402201849AAFttK