Project blob: Edible emulsions

Most blobs are emulsions. From a chemistry perspective, emulsions turn two liquid phases into what appears to be one continuous phase through the use of surfactants. This lesson, created by a chemical engineering graduate student, allows the secondary students to observe this phenomenon in the transformation of vinegar, oil, and egg yolks into mayonnaise. The students, juniors at Western Hills Engineering High School, also see the distinct phases of a colored water and oil in a lava lamp and see the phases turn into what appears to be one phase as soap is added the solution. Assessments show the students' ability to explain how soap washes away dirt, draw the chemical components of the emulsion and relate the same chemistry to surfactants used in the Gulf oil spill cleanup. The application of emulsions to protein separation research for pharmaceutical purposes was also discussed.