Hooked on Science: Powerful bleach

Materials

• Water
• Bleach
• Green food coloring
• Two 18-ounce transparent plastic cups

Instructions

STEP 1: Fill one of the transparent plastic cups half of the way with water. Add two drops of green food coloring to the water and mix.

STEP 2: Fill the other transparent plastic cup one-fourth of the way with bleach.

STEP 3: Pour the bleach into the cup with the green food coloring and water. Continue to mix the ingredients by pouring the contents back and forth into each cup several times and observe.

Explanation

The bleach works by releasing oxygen molecules in a process called oxidation. The released oxygen molecules break the chemical bonds of chromophores. A chromophore is the part of the molecule that gives an object color. Once the chemical bonds of the chromophores are changed, they reflect either no color or a color outside the visible spectrum.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website, hookedonscience.org, for webcasts and experiments.