The foamy fun of "Elephant's Toothpaste," also known as the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, helped Camille Schrier win her job as Miss America 2020! In this episode, Camille re-creates this winning chemical reaction and teaches us all about the science of catalysts and decomposition. Explore questions such as: What is a catalyst? What does a catalyst do? Why do we need a catalyst to make "Elephant's Toothpaste"? It’s a HUGE, wonderful, foamy mess that's all powered by science! Developed for students in grades 6 - 10.

There are two types of catalysis reactions: homogeneous and heterogeneous. In a homogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants. In a heterogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants. This activity addresses homogeneous catalysis.

Chemists are often interested in how fast a reaction will occur, and what we can do to control the rate. The study of reaction rates is called kinetics, and we will learn about average reaction rate, rate laws, the Arrhenius equation, reaction mechanisms, catalysts, and spectrophotometry.

Explore what makes a reaction happen by colliding atoms and molecules. Design experiments with different reactions, concentrations, and temperatures. When are reactions reversible? What affects the rate of a reaction?

Explore what makes a reaction happen by colliding atoms and molecules. Design experiments with different reactions, concentrations, and temperatures. When are reactions reversible? What affects the rate of a reaction?