IOWA AEA MIDDLE SCHOOL (4-9) SCIENCE PROJECT

TEACHER GUIDE for: Household Substances as Cleaners Bryon Helt
Edited by Luann Byerly
ECOLOGY.571 Grades 5-7

CONCEPT OBJECTIVE:
The students will investigate the properties and potential usefulness of household substances as cleaners.

PROCESS OBJECTIVE:
Thinking skills developed in this cycle are observing, exploring, and reporting.

TEACHER INFORMATION:
Not only an exercise in scientific exploration, this cycle is an exercise designed to help make students more aware of ecological issues and possible solutions to common concerns.

MATERIALS:
White vinegar
water
plastic cups
stirrers
liquid measuring cups or graduated cylinders
newspaper
( baking soda, cream of tartar, concentrated lemon juice, table salt, and aluminum foil might be necessary in the application)

TEACHER INFORMATION:
You will need to have some windows to clean. The windows can be wiped with newspapers.

EXPLORATION:

Explain to the students that vinegar and water can be used as a substitute for commercial window cleaners that may have chemicals; in them that are toxic to the environment. The class's job is to find the best mixture of vinegar and water to use to clean windows.

Have each group decide on the mixture they want to use and mix it accurately and record how they mixed it. Then the class goes to the dirty windows and each group cleans an area. The teacher should also clean an area with commercial cleaner.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT:

Bring the group together and discuss which solution they felt had the best results. It is reported that equal parts of vinegar and water are usually the most effective. Give them the list of common household cleaners and discuss why it is more beneficial to use these substances then the commercial cleaners.

APPLICATION:

1. Discuss other variables that could change how the vinegar and water solution work, for example the temperature of the water used or using white vinegar and cider vinegar. Have the students set up an experiment to test which variables will effect the results.
2. Have the students test one of the other natural cleaners against a commercial product. They could do these at home and report back their results.


HOUSEHOLD SUBSTANCES AS CLEANERS

"Silver polish paste" Apply baking soda and water paste to silver, rub, polish dry with soft cloth.

"Sink cleaner" An equal ratio mixture of baking soda and water acts to clean sinks when worked onto surface and rinsed with water.

"Sink cleaner" A 2:1 mixture of concentrated lemon juice to table salt acts to clean sinks when worked onto surface and rinsed with water.

"Window washer" Equal parts of white vinegar and warm water can be used to wash windows, dry with soft cloth.

"Porcelain cleaner" Sprinkle cream of tartar on a porcelain surface and work into surface with a damp cloth.

"Rust remover" Briskly rub rust spots on hard surfaces with crumpled piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up.