The chemistry of Christmas--a demonstration

On Thanksgiving I linked you to a video of Catholic University Chemistry Professor Diane Bunce showing students the chemistry of the holiday. She showed chemically such topics as why popup timers work in turkeys and which antacid works faster.

Now we have another video, this one in which she does experiments that showcase the chemistry concepts of creating Christmas ornaments and related things. She used the principles of chemistry such as polymerization cross-linking, viscosity and density to, variously, make a super bouncing ball, explain why snowflakes seem to fall almost hypnotically when you shake a snow globe and show how to marble a gift card.

Here you can see the video.

“The purpose is to have students take home some chemistry in the form of an ornament to hang on their Christmas tree,” says href="http://new.pogil.org/personnel/bunce.php">Bunce, an award-winning teacher who is known nationally for her expertise in chemistry education. “But it is important that they feel confident explaining the chemistry behind the ornament to their family and friends.”

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