Method
- Add 10 ml of oil to a beaker
- Add 10ml of 40% sodium hydroxide(corrosive)
- Heat the solution till it boils
- Use a spatula to add sodium chloride till it goes semi solid.
- Add perfume or scented liquid
- Leave the soap to dry and then take PH.
Safety
This experiment was overall a safe one but as like other experiments we have to take safety precautions. There was sodium hydroxide which was corrosive so we wore goggles and made sure the skin did not come in contact with sodium hydroxide.
Equipment
Beaker
sodium hydroxide
spatula
sodium chloride
perfume
litmus paper
groundnut oil
sunflower oil
olive oil
corn oil
Results
Results analysis
Looking at the results all the soaps was alkaline. This show’s all the soaps were not good enough to use as they need to be neutral so the skin is not affected. Groundnut oil produced the soap nearest to neutral at 9.9.
Corn oil produced the worst soap as it would affect any skin sensitive or not.
Evaluation
I encountered a few problems in this experiment but I overcame them.
My first problem was finding out when to stop adding sodium chloride to the solution. I added it until most of the solution went solid. This would have corrupted the experiment as too much would cause the soap to be too hard.
My second problem was estimating the amount of time to leave the soap to dry. At the end I estimated 5 minutes. We took PH results.
If I was to do this experiment again I would use different oils to see if I can get one to produce a neutral soap.
To make this a FAIR TEST I made sure I put the same amount of oil in each beaker. I also made sure I added the same amount of sodium chloride in each solution.
Vocational implications
Similarities
- Both industries and schools would scent the mixture.
- Both industries and schools would take safety precautions.
- Both industries and schools would take PH to see if the soap is legit.
Differences
- Industries would use other methods for more accurate measure.
- Industries would use crude oil.
- Industries would use more scented solutions.