Rainbow Bubble Snake

• Quicklinks:
• Background
• Key Concepts
• Materials
• Safety
• Standards

Background

Bubbles are pockets of soap and water that are filled with air – like your breath, which contains nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. When you combine soap and water together then blow air into the mixture, the soap forms a thin wall and traps the air – creating a bubble! The soapy film is composed of three layers: one layer of water molecules between two layers of soap molecules. Millions of these molecules will stick together to form the spherical shape of a bubble.

Key Concepts

• Chemistry
• Gases
• Molecules

Materials

• An adult helper
• 1 small plastic bottle
• 1 thin towel (or sock)
• 1 rubber band
• 3-4 drops of food coloring (variety of colors)
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup dish soap
• 1 small bowl
• 1 precision knife or scissors

Preparation

• Have an adult use the precision knife or scissors to cut the bottom ½ inch off a plastic bottle.
• Use a rubber band to fasten the towel to the open side of the bottle.
• Add the water and dish soap to the small bowl. Swirl to stir.
• Add food coloring directly to the towel. Get creative here – try to make a fun pattern!
• Dip the towel into the soap solution.
• Blow with force into the mouthpiece of the plastic bottle.
• Check it out – you’ve just made a bubble snake!

Observation and Results

Why did we add dish soap to the water solution?

What is the gas trapped inside of the bubbles?

What will happen if you double the amount of dish soap in the water solution?

What will happen if you use a 3-liter soda bottle? Will the bubbles be bigger?

What will happen if you use a thick towel instead of a thin towel?

The towel plays an important role in this experiment, as the dish soap is absorbed into the towel fibers until we use our breath to push our exhaled gas into a bubble.

You may notice some towels work better than others; the best ones are thick enough to absorb the bubble solution, but thin enough that you are can easily push air through the fibers.

And why do we add the food coloring to the towel instead of the water solution? Ideally, we want to create a multicolored chain of bubbles. If we add the food coloring to the towel, we can maintain sections of orange, red, green, blue, purple or whatever colors you chose! This is perfect for creating a rainbow bubble snake. However, if we had added all of these colors to the water solution, our water would turn dark black. That solution would give us a chain of black bubbles instead of a colorful bubble snake!

Keep trying out different color variations, different towel sizes, and make your observations.

When you are finished, remember to clean up when you are done by disposing of or recycling your materials.

Safety First and Adult Supervision

• Follow the experiment’s instructions carefully.
• A responsible adult should assist with each experiment.
• While science experiments at home are exciting ways to learn about science hands-on, please note that some may require participants to take extra safety precautions and/or make a mess.
• Adults should handle or assist with potentially harmful materials or sharp objects.
• Adult should review each experiment and determine what the appropriate age is for the student’s participation in each activity before conducting any experiment.

Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) Supported - Disciplinary Core Ideas

This experiment was selected for Science at Home because it teaches NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas, which have broad importance within or across multiple science or engineering disciplines.

Learn more about how this experiment is based in NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Engineering Design (ETS)1: Engineering Design