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Science Project on Different Soap Suds

There are many different types of soap that contain a variety of different ingredients. Soap is usually made up of some type of fatty acid that has been treated with lye or another alkaline material. Fragrances and dyes can also be added to soaps. Soaps make a great tool for experiments --- by using soap and water, you can learn about the mineral concentration in your water.

Hard and Soft Water
- There are hard and soft types of water. If water is classified as hard, it means that there is a high mineral content in water. Soft water, on the other hand, has a low mineral content. Water across the United States has different degrees of hardness, from zero to 250 milligrams per liter concentration of hardness as calcium carbonate. Soap creates suds more easily in soft water than in hard water, so you can use soap to determine what kind of water you have.
Getting Started
- For this project, you will need to have different types of water --- soft and hard --- and jars with lids to hold the water. You can use distilled water for the soft water and make hard water by crushing a piece of chalk and putting it into a second jar of distilled water. You can also fill a third jar with tap water from your home to determine if your water is hard or soft. Use a vegetable-based liquid oil soap for the experiment. Using measuring spoons will help you measure the correct amount of soap to add to the water.
Mixing in Soap Suds
- Fill each of your jars about a third of the way with one type of water. Label the jar of distilled water "soft," the jar with the distilled water and chalk "hard" and the jar of tap water "tap" so that you can compare the results. To make the hard water, add 1/2 teaspoon of crushed chalk, put the lid on the jar, and shake it so that the chalk dissolves. To start the experiment, add 1/4 teaspoon of soap to each jar and shake it. After shaking, watch what occurs in each jar and record what you see.
Reading the Results
- The distilled water, which is soft, should have the most soap suds because it has the least amount of minerals. The hard water should have the least amount of suds because of the calcium sulphate in the chalk. The water in this jar will appear white and cloudy because the soap will stick to the minerals instead of forming suds. You can compare your tap water --- is it full of suds or cloudy? --- with the other types of water to determine if your water is hard or soft.

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