Microwave Soap

Microwave Soap

Rating of difficulty: 1 out of a possible 10 VERY EASY and simple

Before you start make sure:

• Do not leave the microwave unattended during the activity.
• Although heating up soap in the microwave will not damage your microwave or the food you heat in it later, it will cause the microwave to smell like soap for a few hours and also your kitchen.
• Make sure your remove the packaging and put ONLY the soap in the microwave

Materials:

• Bar of Ivory® soap (none other work)
• Microwave

Procedure:

1. Place the soap on the plate (nonmetal) and put it in the microwave.
2. Set the microwave for 2-3 minutes, turn it on, and watch the soap for the entire time.

Observation:

What you should see is that the soap has turned into a foamy looking substance but still remains a solid.

Explanation:

The soap company adds air bubbles in the soap to save material and make a bigger profit. When the soap is heated instead of melting the air bubbles expand and cause the soap to change into that form.

Additional information:

One can determine how much air is put into the soap but a simple floating test. Just put the soap car into a bucket of water. If it floats it has a high air content if it sinks very low air content.