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.

Hands on Chemistry is a resource designed for use in traditional, online, and blended high school Chemistry classrooms. It was developed by Blue Ridge PBS in collaboration with Virtual Virginia. In this video, Chemistry teacher Fred Mitchell demonstrates a double displacement reaction using Potassium Iodide and Lead.

Keywords: double displacement reaction, potassium iodide, lead nitrate

Meets VA SOL: CH.3