What do you think of my science project ideas?

[drewd]

My idea for my science project came from an unfortunate accident that almost ended my soccer career. My dad picked me up from track practice and had to take me directly to soccer practice. This meant that I had to change clothes in the back seat of his truck. When I got in there was a jug of liquid lying on its side on the floor. I picked it up and took off my shoes and socks. The carpeting felt wet but I continued to change as I put my now wet sock into my soccer cleat. Something did not feel right as I joined practice, my foot was itching and tingling. I continued to practice til I could no longer stand it and went to tell my dad. He pulled off my cleat and sock and it was not a pretty sight. The liquid in the jug was a chemical used to clean the coils of air conditioner units. The skin on my foot looked like it was being eaten away, an effect of a chemical burn. Someone yelled, "Put his foot in vinegar to neutralize the pH." Soon my foot was in a bucket of vinegar as we sped to the emergency room. I did suffer some third degree burns but after several months of therapy my soccer career was back on track. My doctor always assured me I would recover but that I probably would not model open toed shoes and gave me the name, "Scarfoot." He also told me that the vinegar saved my foot from more serious injury. I always wondered if vinegar was the best solution and hence my idea for my science project. I plan to test the pH of ten household products and then see what best neutralizes the pH, vinegar, water, or baking soda solution.
Is this a good idea for a project? I plan to test chlorine bleach, nail polish remover, facial toner, window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, any other ideas? Any feedback would be great.

[tzforbes]

Wow! You've been through a lot! I'm glad to hear that your foot is getting better and that you're back to playing soccer again.

I'm also impressed that you've been thinking about the chemical reactions that happened during your accident and have come up with an interesting question about everyday household chemicals. The only thing that I would worry about is that because these chemicals are pretty nasty, adjusting their pH can have some bad side affects. For instance if you mix acid (even vinegar) with bleach, you can create chlorine gas, which is pretty toxic. So instead of adjusting the pH, maybe you could measure the pH of these different chemicals and then hypothesize or decide what would neutralize the chemical better - a weak acid or a weak base. Your final report would be pretty interesting and would educate people on what to do if an accident like the one you had ever happened to them.

If you need a homemade pH paper, the following link has some information on make it: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... g&from=TSW

[tdaly]

Hi drewd,

tzforbes comment about measuring the pH of different solutions and then predicting whether a weak acid or weak base would be appropriate for neutralizing the solution is a good one. This sort of an intial experiment could be a good one for helping you develop your hypothesis. (A quick side note - "weak" in the context of an acid or base refers to the extent to which the acid or base dissociates in water and doesn't nessicarly relate to how dangerous an acid or base is.) The point about hazards of mixing household chemicals is also very well founded. Mixing household chemicals is not a good idea and can be very dangerous!

However, I think that conceptually your project can still work. It would seem to me that you are most interested in two things. (1) How to neutralize household chemicals, and (2) acid-base neutralizations in general. So, what if you did something like this: you work with your teacher and figure out what might be 4 or 5 chemicals that you might be able to neutralize. Depending on your teacher and the equipment you have available, something like dilute hydrochloric acid, dilute sodium hydroxide, dilute acetic acid (aka vinegar), sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda), and water would give you a range of acid/base behavior. Please consult your teacher to make sure that you use safe lab practices when working with chemicals. Goggles, lab apron, and gloves are a must. You could then determine how to neturalize the pH of each of these chemicals and then apply the principles you learn to the real-life situations you have been in. Doing so would be MUCH safer than mixing household chemicals, like the ones you listed, together. Does that make sense? If not, please let me know so that I can explain better.

Good luck with your project! It sounds like you are off to a great start!

[Craig_Bridge]

Before you experiment with or for that mater use any chemicals, you really need to read their material safety data sheet. These list the precautions, the risks, what should be done in case of accidental contact, inhalation, or swallowing of the chemicals.

The chemicals you plan to test: "chlorine bleach, nail polish remover, facial toner, window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner" represent different hazards. Chlorine bleach is an oxidizer and as previously mentioned, has the potential to release chlorine gas if reacted with the wrong things. The typical treatment is to flush with water. Water is good for diluting anything that will disolve in it; however, it must be used with great care when strong acids are involved as there is a strong danger of spatter of the acid caused by a violent reaction. Nail polish remover is usually acetone based which is flamable. Window cleaners are often amonia based which is definitely not something you want to mix with chorine bleach! Dilution with water is usually the recommended approach for that one. Toilet bowl cleaners are often sodium hydroxide or another strong base. Again, dilution with water is usually the recommended approach for those as well.

One of the reasons why flushing with water is often the recommended approach is because it is widely available and except for strong acids and some exotic metals, it isn't likely to make things worse.

You might add whole milk to your list of neutralizers to test with. The calcium, fatty acids, and water in it are fairly good at dealing with several nasty chemicals.