When she walked onto the stage for the talent portion of the Miss America competition, Camille Schrier wore a simple white lab coat, stood in front of three flasks containing hydrogen peroxide and joked, “Don’t try this at home.”
Soon-to-be-Dr. Schrier (who is studying to obtain a doctor of pharmacy degree at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond) picked up a beaker of ominous yellow potassium iodide, dumped it into the peroxide and sealed her legacy as a Miss America who would be remembered for winning over the judges with science.
Recorded from @MissAmerica: @MissAmericaVA Camille Schrier takes her elephants toothpaste chemistry demo to the national stage! #MissAmerica2020 @VT_alumni #WomenInSTEM pic.twitter.com/NZ4FRLXT5I
— Virginia Tech Science (@VT_Science) December 20, 2019
Colorful streams of foam erupted from the flasks, blowing the minds of Ms. Schrier’s audience and judges. Minutes later, Ms. Schrier was crowned Miss America 2020. She edged out 50 other women to win a $50,000 scholarship, as well as a job traveling the country to promote a “social impact initiative.” (Ms. Schrier’s platform issue, like her talent, is about science, or more specifically drug safety.)
The 24-year-old’s classic chemistry demonstration showed that hydrogen peroxide decomposition can be sped up to fantastic effect. But lower concentrations of hydrogen peroxide that are typically found in stores and used for cleaning cuts and scrapes can be safely used to reproduce the experiment at home.
“Hydrogen peroxide slowly decomposes into water and oxygen all the time,” said Amanda Morris, an associate professor of chemistry at Virginia Tech, where Ms. Schrier completed her undergraduate studies in biochemistry and systems biology.
“We are delighted to see a Virginia Tech science alumna shine on the national stage,” said Sally C. Morton, dean of the College of Science at Virginia Tech, “and we’re even more thrilled that she is using her success to showcase the value of STEM education for kids and as a catalyst to encourage young girls to study science and do science.”
What Ms. Schrier demonstrated in her experiment was that semi-stable compounds like hydrogen peroxide need a little help to speed up the decomposition process at room temperature.
“You can imagine that it’s like trying to go over a hill,” Dr. Morris said. “It takes some energy to walk up the incline and you’ll sweat a little bit, but once you get past the top, you can keep going really easily.”
Adding a catalyst, such as potassium iodide, essentially bulldozes a path through the hill. The substance helps hydrogen peroxide form less stable compounds that can stroll through the newly opened path to the other side. Basically the catalyst helps produce water and oxygen, while releasing some heat.
Store-bought yeast also contains a chemical called catalase that can help break down hydrogen peroxide, although its effects are not as dramatic as potassium iodide. This means that adding yeast to a solution of hydrogen peroxide will break down the peroxide. The oxygen gas that’s released will form bubbles and try to escape.
Mixing in a little bit of dish soap in the reaction will create enough surface tension that oxygen bubbles will get trapped, Dr. Morris said.
“It helps you visualize what’s happening by creating foam.”
Here’s the recipe, adapted from Science Buddies, so you can try it out for yourself.
Materials
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Empty plastic bottle
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3 percent hydrogen peroxide solution, available at nearly any drug or grocery store
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One packet of active yeast found in the baking section of the grocery store
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Liquid dish soap
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Warm water
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Food coloring (to make the reaction look pretty)
Preparation
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Set up in a sink or go outdoors. You will want to do the experiment in a location where it will be easy to clean up all the foam afterward.
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Stand away from the bottle once you add all the chemicals for the reaction. Hydrogen peroxide can irritate the skin and discolor clothing, even in low concentrations. (In chemical experiments using concentrated hydrogen peroxide like the one Ms. Schrier performed, scientists wear safety glasses and personal protective equipment.)
Procedure
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Carefully pour ½ cup hydrogen peroxide into the plastic bottle and add a big squirt of dish soap. Swirl gently to mix.
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Add 2 to 3 drops of food coloring to the solution. (If you want to give your foam stripes, put the drops on the edge of the bottle’s mouth, but do not mix them in.)
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In a separate container, mix 1 tablespoon of yeast and 3 tablespoons of warm water. Wait about 5 minutes for the yeast to activate.
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Pour the yeast solution into the bottle with hydrogen peroxide.
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Step back and watch foam squeeze out like a tube of elephant-size toothpaste!
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