Consumer Chemistry

The Density Bottle experiment has inspired many colorful variations over the years.^1-6 I recently came across yet another colorful variation that I’d like to discuss.

Josh Kenney, Melissa Hemling, and I just published an article in the October 2024 Journal of Chemical Education. The article describes inquiry-based activities that highlight the chemistry behind “No-Mess” picture-coloring books.¹ Well, it turns out that our timing is impeccable.

A variety of interesting coloring books are available on the market that use water as a coloring agent.¹ When water is applied to the pages of these books, colors seem to appear like magic. When the water evaporates, the colors disappear. This allows the pages of these books to be colored over and over again.

One of the main tenets of NGSS is the use of phenomena to have students discover the content. I’m new to NGSS, as Indiana just adopted the standards this year, but I’m very excited about the integration of phenomena. I’m all-in on attempting to ground as much of my instruction as possible in phenomena.

Co-Authored by Iain A. Smellie*, Iain L. J. Patterson* *University of St Andrews, School of Chemistry, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9ST, United Kingdom

Jet-Puffed color changing marshmallows are an interesting new product that is available on the shelves of grocery stores through the end of September.¹ The color of these marshmallows changes when exposed to heat: the blue version turns green, while the pink version turns orange.

Co-Authored by Iain A. Smellie*, Iain L. J. Patterson*, Brian A. Chalmers* *University of St Andrews, School of Chemistry, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9ST, United Kingdom

I remember one of my closest friends in college telling the story of her mother and cabbage soup. When her parents were first married, her mom made a recipe for cabbage soup which they loved. She wanted to make it again, but couldn’t find green cabbage so she made it with red. To their surprise, it turned out bright blue.

by Dean J. Campbell*, Thomas Kahila*, Kaitlyn Walls*, Q Ott* *Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois