Why is my fake snow warm

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diamoroz
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2020 1:39 pm
Occupation: Teacher

Why is my fake snow warm

Post by diamoroz »

I was trying out the fake snow project using baking soda and a hair conditioner. The mixture I created turned really hot (an exothermic reaction), although the tutorial mentioned that the opposite should happen.
The ingredients in the conditioner are: water, cetearyl alcohol, glycerin, panthenol, niacinamide, isopropyl alcohol, pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate, parfum, dicaprylyl ether, isopropyl palmitate, behentrimonium chloride, distearoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, cetrimonium chloride, sodium benzoate, citric acid.
Could anyone please help me understand what is happening? Thank you!!
cvionis
Student Expert
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:21 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: Why is my fake snow warm

Post by cvionis »

Hello diamoroz,

If you are referring to the Science Buddies "Foaming Fake Snow" activity, it is possible that this happened due to the fact that you used hair conditioner instead of dish soap. Make sure that you have carefully followed the activity's instructions and used the proper measurements and materials.

The activity's materials and instructions can be found on the following page: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-act ... #materials .
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