Bubble-ology

Shelia Buchana
Cynthia Daniels
Brenda Pieper

AUTHOR's NAMES: Shelia Buchanan, Cynthia Daniels, Brenda Pieper

TITLE OF THE LESSON: Longer Lasting Bubbles

TECHNOLOGY LESSON: No

DATE OF LESSON: Thursday and Friday

LENGTH OF LESSON: 5  45 minute class periods

NAME OF COURSE: 6^th Grade Science

SOURCE OF THE LESSON: Bubble-ology GEMS Guide by Jacqueline Barber, Activity 6, p. 4

TEKS ADDRESSED:

6.1,    Scientific processes. The student conducts field and laboratory investigations using safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices. The student is expected to: (A)  demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory investigations

6.2,    Scientific processes. The student uses scientific inquiry methods during field and laboratory investigations. The student is expected to:

(A)  plan and implement investigative procedures including asking questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting and using equipment and technology; (B)  collect data by observing and measuring;

(C)  analyze and interpret information to construct reasonable explanations from direct and indirect evidence;

(D)  communicate valid conclusion

6.3 Scientific processes. The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions. The student is expected to:

(A)  analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information

CONCEPT STATEMENT:

Variables are things that can be changed to affect results of an experiment. Students should be able to identify variables to make their experiment successful and be able to communicate the process to others.

Critical thinking is the process of actively conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. Students should be able to use critical thinking skills, necessary in concept building, to develop a successful experiment to meet the challenge in this lesson.

Source: www.criticalthinking.org

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Identify variables that affect the lifespan of a bubble
• Identify ways to change variables to increase the lifespan of a bubble
• Use critical thinking skills to develop an experiment to make a long lasting bubble
• Report summative results

RESOURCES:

• 8oz. dishwashing liquid
• water
• measuring cup
• eyedropper
• one-gallon container for mixing bubble solution
• glycerin
• containers to blow bubbles in: clear screw-top jars - as large as possible, plastic dishpans, Styrofoam egg cartons, etc.
• Materials to cover containers: clear plexi-glass sheets, plastic wrap, cafeteria trays, cheese cloth, aluminum foil
• Humidifying materials: turkey basters, sponges, water spray bottles
• Solution additives: sugar, glycerin, corn syrup, white glue, rubbing alcohol, extra dishwashing liquid   
• Volumetric measuring devices: measuring cups, measuring spoons, graduated cylinders, eyedroppers

For each pair of students:

            2 plastic drinking straws

            1 pint sized container

            1 Long-Lived Bubbles data sheet

            1 Pencil

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS:

Students should be warned that if bubble solution is spilled the floor will become slick and someone could slip and fall. Students should be instructed that any spills must be cleaned-up immediately.

Students will be working with glass containers, which if broken can cause cuts. Students must be instructed to handle glass containers with care. If glass breaks, they should immediately report this to the teacher.

Students will be blowing bubbles with straws. Teacher must instruct students not to share straws due to the spreading of germs.

SUPLEMENTARY MATERIALS, HANDOUTS:

            "Long-Lived Bubbles" data sheet (found in GEMS Guide)

MAGIC WITH A BUBBLE.
A Globe of Soap film made to float on Liquid air.
Iowa | Davenport | Davenport Daily Leader | 1894-07-11

A frozen soap bubble broken in two and floating like an iridescent transparent egg shell on the surfaceof a vessel of liquid air was one of the most marvelous sights shown by Prof. Dewar in a lecture at the Royal institute, London, on the effects of intense cold. The investigation of this new field of science is developing- many wonderful bits of knowledge, some of which are sure to be tarried to valuable practical account before long. The pretty experiment spoken of which delighted the audience- was quite simple. The professor poured a few spoonfuls of liquid air into a glass vessel. The intense cold caused by evaporation produced a miniature snowstorm in the atmosphere above the liquid. The operator lowered the soup bubble on the end of a rod into the freezing atmosphere. The bubble became darker. The movements of the rainbow-colored film grew slower. It contracted somewhat in size, and a moment later froze. A slight movement broke it from the rod in two pieces, which floated for an hour, gradually accumulating- a tiny snowdrift within, precipitated from the freezing air above.


Illinois, Chicago, Daily Herald, 1920-01-16

Always Mystery to Science.

When a bubble Becomes Very Old It Offers Only Possible Example of the Molecule Visible to the Naked Eye.

Philadelphia, Pa -- Facts about the prodigious strength of soap bubbles proved by experiments in which bubbles were kept intact for more than a year and subjected to all sorts of weight strains, were made public hare for the first time by the Franklin Institute, one of the oldest scientific societies in the United States.

Important to Chemists
Coming on the heals of the announcement of Einstein's discoveries of the gravitational bending of light, the exploitation of the soap bubble is on the other side of the scale as to size, yet, according to scientists, is of tremen importance to chemists, physicists and research workers in the strength of materials and essential elements. the man who made the experiments is universally recognized as one of the leading scientists in the world. His is Sir James Dewar, LL. D.D. Sc. F. R.S. Fullerian Professor of Chemistry, Royal Institution of Great Britain, and an honorary member of the Franklin Institute.

The soap bubble is a simple thing, yet it has always been more or less a mystery to scientists. They consider it perhaps the best phenomenon existing for the study of the habits and (???) of the molecule.

Scientists now claim, on the strength of the experiment made by sir James Dewar, that when a soap bubble becomes very old, say in three or four days, it offers the only possible example of the molecule visible to the naked eye. Most parts of the bubble are estimated to consist of about one hundred layers of molecules. but by various methods of treatment the bubble is induced to perform “stunts” until black spots which appear on it represents only a single layer of molecules.

Remarkable strength.
This layer is so thin that Sir James Estimates it would take one and one-third million like it, superimposed, to make an inch. Yet, when the soap bubble is permitted to mature in air that has been freed of its natural enemies, it is so strong that it will support drops of water many times it's own weight before breaking. Sometimes a bubble is torn from it's supporting ring by the weight before the molecules release their holding grip.

Eiffel Plasterer

Bubbles Feature Rotary Program For 'Ladies' Night'
Van Wert Times-Bulletin - Tuesday, February, 25, 1941 - Van Wert, Ohio
Chains of bubbles, stacks of bubbles, clusters of bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles—bubbles in forms and tricks most people never even thought about, provided entertainment for Rotarians and their wives at the annual winter "ladies' night" at the Hotel Marsh Monday. G. A. Balyeat and H. V. Hunt, who were program committeemen for the affair, presented a Huntington, Ind., man, Eiffel G. Plasterer, in his performance which he has named a "Bubbles Concerto."

Mr. Plasterer, former science teacher in Huntington High School, became interested in soap bubbles in connection with his class work. He made special equipment for blowing the filmy spheres and gradually developed a show for public presentation.

In his performance, Mr. Plasterer places bubbles on pedestals and some last throughout the show. He forms chains of bubbles, plays basketball with them, makes a bubble blow out a candle flame and as a grand finale fills a bubble with hydrogen, attaches an American flag to the bottom and the audience watches it soar to the ceiling.Mr. Plasterer was assisted in the show by his wife, Inez, and by (Norm?) Kelley who plays the piano.

Rotarians were welcomed by President H. A. Eggerss who announced that District Governor Harry Poulston of Lima found it necessary to attend a Rotary meeting in another town, although he had expected to attend the Van Wert "ladies' night". Thick steaks and shoestring potatoes were an important part of the meal served by the Maish.












These two articles contain the same text.

(See text that follows)





If Ever a Job Was a Pipe, This Is It!
Schoolmaster's World Is A Bubble
The Bismarck Tribune - Thursday, April, 1, 1948 - Bismarck, North Dakota

HUNTINGTON, IND. — (NEA)—
Whatever may happen in Trieste, Palestine, Finland. China or any other of the world's trouble spots, one thing can be said for certain. No crisis is going to keep Elffel G Plasterer from blowing soap bubbles.

Plasterer, a husky Hoosier schoolmaster, revived -his childhood past time, back in 1932 to showhis physics class at the local high school what was meant by surface tension. The growing world tension in the years that followed, only served to spur him on to bigger and better bubbles.

They intrigued him right from the start, Plasterer confesses, and after he had given a public demonstration in 1933 they began intriguing other people. Fellow Huntingtonians like Pro. Wendell Clipp of Huntington College and William Funderburg, syrup manufacturer urged him on. First thing he knew, Plasterer had an extracurricular career on his hands.

No one, with the possible exception of Sally Rand, can do more with a bubble than Eiffel G Plasterer. He can blow them little or he can blow them two feet across. He can blow them singly or in tandem. He can blow them in squares and triangles. Sometimes hefills bubbles with hydrogen and oxygen and explodes them like a bomb. Or, when the mood strikes him, he may set a hydrogen bubble afire. Skeptics In his audiences are likely to find themselves wrapped up In a long snaky bubble. And Plasterer once encased his wife Inez, In a bubble, to the admiration and delight of the Indiana Academy of Science.

The original 10-minute demonstration has grown Into a two hour
show. Plasterer calls It "The Bubbles Concerto," and it's probably the only soap opera with real soap in it. For one movement of the concerto, the artist hangs his bubbles on a line with clothespins. The grand finale to a patriotic tableau employing a five-foot length of pipe from which float four American flags and 25 shimmering, iridescent bubbles.

Almost every night, after his day's work of expounding physics Is done, Plasterer gets Into his tuxedo and performs for a lodge meeting, church social or school assembly. His fame has spread beyond the borders of Hoosierdom, and he has wowed audiences from Hazard, KY to Ochesdan (sp?), lA.

Plasterer's Interest In the soap bubble Is not limited to Its theatrical glamour: In the scientific field he has kept a bubble "alive" for 180 dais under a bell jar. This feat, accomplished in 1941, Plasterer claims as (a) world's record. He says it broke the previous record of 108 days established 30 years ago by Sir James Dewar, the British scientist.

Plasterer also has a tender personal feeling for the expendable tools of his after-hours profession. Bubbles really live, he says. And when they burst they die violently. Through a combination of technique and compassion, Plasterer occasionally is able to produce bubbles which expire (gracefully by degrees like a tire.) Whether they remain bubbles after they shrink out of site is a metaphysical question on which Plasterer refuses to speculate.

The secret of his bubbles' long and healthy life lies in his soap solution. Plasterer says it resists gravity and slows down evaporation. The formula is as secret as the Oak Ridge recipe but it does have soap in it.

Next year when he completes 28 years of teaching, Plasterer is going to retire from teaching and give his full time to his stage career. Full of confidence in his secret formula he has no qualms about building the future on bubbles. He's the first to admit that if ever a job was a pipe, this is it.

RECORD BUBBLES ~ Nashua Telegraph, Aug. 3, 1950
There are lots of people, old and young, who are interested in soap bubbles, and most of them must have been fascinated by the disclosure that Eiffel G. Plasterer, a retired physics and chemistry teacher of Huntington, Indiana, had kept a bubble intact for 200 days. There must also have been a thought that he was unfairly keeping something from the juvenile world when he announced that the solution with which he made his fabulous bubble would remain his own secret. — Chelsea Record

GrownMan BlowsBubbles
"For Science, Of Course!
Huntington, Ind. — (UP) — The Sheboygan (Wis.) Press, July 12, 1950

The man who keeps soap bubbles intact for 200 days said today that any children who try to duplicate the feat will be sadly disappointed.

"It takes a special kind of soap," said Eiffel G. Plasterer. "I'm the only one who knows the formula. And I'm keeping it secret.”

Plasterer, a retired high school physics and chemistry teacher, says he blows his long-lasting bubbles for the sake of science. Despite his 50 years of age, however, he admits that he gets a kick out of his work. "I blow them in regular children's pipes or in glass tubes, "he said. "I've even blown them out of trumpets — the kind musicians use!"

Plasterer broke his own world's bubble record yesterday when a bubble he blew last December
finally disappeared. "It had dwindled almost to nothing," he said. "It just suddenly went 'pop' and all that was left was a little splattering of moisture. Iwas sorry to seeit go."

Plasterer has been blowing bubbles for 15 years — for science, of course. He first set the world's bubble record in 1938 with one that lasted 180 days. Previously, a British scientist had blown one that lasted 108 days.

He said bubbles fascinate him because they are representative of the "wonder(ful) state of matter — halfway between a liquid and a solid." "I doubt whether my bubbles will ever bring about any important scientific advances," he said, "but they do seem to prove the Kinetic system of matter."

He tours Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, demonstrating his theories before scientific and educational groups. He's convinced the life of a bubble depends on the size of the soap particles. Smaller molecules of soap move faster, permitting them to overcome the influence of outside forces such as gravity.







Eiffel's a Blowhard; His Bubbles Last for 200 Days
SYRACUSE HERALD JOURNAL Thursday. July 13. 1950

Huntington,Ind. (UP).—Eiffel G. Plasterer said today he is the only person who knows ho\v to make soap bubbles that last 200 days.

"And I'm keeping it secret," he said.

Plasterer, a retired high school physics and chemistry teacher, said he blows his long-lasting bubbles for the sake of science. Despite his 50 years of age, however, he admits that he gels a kick out of his work.

“I blow them in regular children's pipes of in glass tubes,” he said. “I've even blown them out of trumpets-the kind musicians use.”

Plasterer broke his own world's bubble record Tuesday when a bubble he blew last December finally disappeared. "It had dwindled almost to nothing," he said, "It just suddenly went 'pop' and all that was left was a little splattering of moisture. I was sorry to see it go."

Plasterer has been blowing bubbles for 15 years — for science, of course. He first set the world's bubble record in 1938 with one that last 150 days. Previously, a British scientist had blown one that lasted 108 days. "I doubt whether my bubbles will ever bring about any important scientific advances," he said, "but they seem to prove the kinetic system of matter."

He's convinced the life of a bubble depends on the size of the soap particles. Smaller molecules of soap move faster, permitting them to overcome the influence of outside forces such as gravity.

Van Del Juniors Sponsor Program By 'Bubble Man'
Van Wert Times-Bulletin - Wednesday, February, 25, 1953 - Van Wert, Ohio
A program of entertainment by the famed "Bubble Man," Eiffel G. Plasterer, will be presented at 8 p. m. Friday at the Van Del Junior High auditorium in Middle Point under the sponsorship of the Van Del junior class. Childhood experiences make most persons think of the soap bubble as the most perishable of objects. But Plasterer blows bubbles that remain on the stage for long periods and has, with scientific care, preserved some of them for as long as a half-year. Solutions he uses are from his own formulae, developed over long periods, so that he can provide the proper medium for various kinds, shapes and sizes of bubbles. He has appeared on radio, in a movie short and more recently on television with his performance.