Day 4: Colonial Chemistry

Activity 1: Making Ice Cream

To make ice cream, you need to freeze it. This can be done by mixing ice and salt (sodium chloride) together, which will freeze the ice cream over time. You started the process by placing the ice cream mix into one zip bag and placing that bag into another bag containing a mixture of ice and salt. After a few minutes, the ice cream mixture was then placed into a traditional ice cream maker and enjoyed during snack time. See the video and pictures below.

Activity 2: Silvering Flasks

One way to prepare a silver mirror is to react a solution of sugar with a solution that contains silver nitrate, ammonia and base (this is called the Tollen's Reagent). The reaction causes the silver ions to become silver metal atoms, which coat the inside of the flask, creating a real silver mirror. Watch Dr. Miller's demonstration, your reactions and the final silver mirrored flasks below.

Activity 3: Making Soap

Soap is made by reacting (sometimes boiling) a plant oil or animal fat with lye (very strong base). This is called a Saponification Reaction. You reacted a mixture of oils with sodium hydroxide to create your soap, which had some color and fragrance added. After several weeks of drying (curing), it will be ready for use (remember to change the paper towels every couple of days). Watch the process and see the final results below.