Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I have a student who is having a hard time with the components of and the research of her project. She has chosen what would happen if she adds bleach to milk and food coloring. Can you help me guide her? Thanks

Hi Laura,
You might want to look through the list of different science fair projects that have already been developed and posted on this site. I found one that was similar to the ideas your student had, but with an increased focus on pH. The link is below.

http://www.sciencebuddies.com/science-f ... y&from=TSW

Good luck!

Matt Badtke

Hi,

I am not sure that kind of science project would be the best thing to do. Bleach is very corrosive and toxic to humans. Bleach could possibly react the milk, as bleach is highly basic, while milk is slightly acidic. The bleach could also react with some fat globules or metallic ions within the milk to give off some dangerous products.

Hope that helps!

-Sam

Hello,
Perhaps you could look at the ScienceBuddies project suggestions website. It sounds like she's interested in pursuing a project that will introduce concepts of pH. As the other experts have mentioned, bleach might not be the safest reagent to use, but perhaps other common household products like vinegar and orange juice may be able to produce results that would illustrate similar concepts?

Additionally, if your student is interested in experimenting with, for example, milk, perhaps she could design her experiment to focus on the different properties of solutions (suspensions, colloids, etc). Just a suggestion.

Lily