Home Experiments: Write a formal laboratory report for the Take Home Challenge. The laboratory report must be typed, follow the laboratory format you use for class reports and be through. The conclusion must answer the challenge question.  This project is an individual project. You must attach two pictures of you doing the experiment to your laboratory report.

Creaking Plastic Soft Drink Bottles  Have you ever noticed the sounds of cracking and creaking when you throw an empty, capped plastic soft drink bottle in the recycle bin on a very cold day? What happens to the helium-filled balloon that sits in your car for several hours on a very cool day or on a very hot day? Try this activity to see how these occurrences are related.

Burp Bottle Have you ever burped before? Burping is caused when there is an accumulation of gas in the digestive system. The "burp" occurs when the gas is released through the mouth. You can construct a "burp bottle" to imitate this action. Try this activity to find out how.

The Tarnished Truth  Although silver utensils are generally quite attractive, over time they become tarnished as they react with sulfur in the air or in certain foods. You may have had the dubious pleasure of polishing silver and learned that the tarnish is very stable and not easily removed. A common method of cleaning silver is to use an expensive cleaner that removes the tarnish (along with some silver) by abrasion. There is another way to restore the luster that uses less expensive materials, takes less effort, and has another benefit. What do you think it might be?

Hold the (Broken) Mayo!  Although you were probably not aware of it, emulsions are very common around a household, as evidenced by several familiar foods and many cosmetics. Gourmet cooks and connoisseurs of fine sauces have long recognized the egg yolk as the mark of a classy sauce; one that is smooth and rich, with lots of oil or butter "held" into the water-based mixture. The secret of egg yolk is that it contains lecithin, a naturally-occurring emulsifying agent. Even so, the oil-holding capacity of a sauce is limited, and when too much oil is added (such as in mayonnaise), it "breaks" into two layers

Rubber Band Equilibria  A rubber band is composed of numerous polymer chains. In the relaxed state the atoms have significant freedom of movement or vibration. When the polymer is stretched, its atoms have less freedom of movement and therefore less vibrational energy. Is there a change in energy when a rubber band stretches or contracts? Try this activity and find out.

What’s in a Potato?  Have you ever used a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to disinfect an open cut? If so, you probably noticed the formation of bubbles. Although hydrogen peroxide decomposes into water and oxygen gas very slowly at room temperature, the rate increases significantly in the presence of the enzyme catalase. Common substances containing catalase include blood, saliva, and potatoes. Does temperature affect the functioning of catalase?

Curdled Milk  One material in this activity is milk. Milk contains casein, a protein. When milk sours, the curds that form are coagulated casein. Another material in this activity is rennin, an enzyme. Obtained from the stomach lining of calves, rennin is used to make ice cream and cheese. A third material is vinegar, which contains acetic acid, a weak acid. What happens when either rennin or vinegar is added to milk? Will changing the temperature affect the functioning of rennin? Try this activity and find out.

Aspirin Tablets Can Differ The principal ingredient in aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid. If you have ever taken aspirin, you may have noticed some stomach discomfort afterward. Manufacturers have developed several techniques to make aspirin easier on your stomach. This activity should help you understand how modifications to aspirin tablets help to minimize stomach discomfort

Entropy, Enthalpy, and Free Energy  The equation relating these factors is:  ΔG = ΔH-TΔS, where G is free energy, H is enthalpy, S is entropy, and T is temperature (in Kelvin). Although temperature values will always be positive, entropy, enthalpy, and free energy values can be positive or negative. For a given process, a quantitative value for each factor can be calculated using the known values of the factors for each reactant involved according to the general equation ΔX°rx = SX°(products) - SX°(reactants). See if this activity helps you better understand what these quantities really mean.

Pencil Electrolysis  Water is often considered to be a rather stable compound; that is, adding energy in the form of heat only causes a change in its state, but the steam that results is still H2O. Nevertheless, you can use household materials to decompose water into its elements.

Anti-Gravity Jars You have probably spilled water from an open jar before. Do you think there is some way to prevent water from spilling from an inverted jar without permanently affixing a lid or other cover? How about employing what you know about the chemistry of water to meet this challenge? Any ideas? Try them and the following activity and see how successful you are.

Frosting Glass Pure ionic compounds generally exist as crystalline solids. Try this activity and see how one such compound can be used to make frosted glass.

Grading Criteria: Take Home Experiments Typed lab Report Possible Points Earned points Thoroughness and accuracy of the information in the introduction 15   Materials and Procedure 10   Data Table and Data Analysis 15   Pictures 15   Conclusion 20   Pictures:  Projects will not be accepted with out the pictures and are worth 10 points of your project grade.  The pictures will be the proof of authenticity and must include each member in the group taking part of the experiment.  The pictures should illustrate each step in the procedure.