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Benjamin Wu
Nov 124 min read

Experimental Process: Determining the Best Substance to Make Soap


Introduction

  • The origins of soap are uncertain, but historical documents suggest that the ancient Phoenicians used it over 5,000 years ago, and substances that resemble soap have been discovered in ancient Egyptian ruins.

  • Before commercial soap was widely available, people would create their own soap by boiling a mixture of animal fats and lye in a pot. 

  • Eventually, it was discovered that the soap could be purified by adding salt, which caused the soap to form a solid that excluded impurities such as sodium hydroxide. 

  • This resulted in a milder soap that was suitable for use not only in cleaning clothes and pots but also for the skin.


Understanding the Ingredients of Soap

  • Soap: A cleansing and emulsifying agent made usually by the action of alkali on fat or fatty acids and consisting essentially of sodium or potassium salts of such acids.

  • It is essentially fat or oil mixed with an alkali called a lye.

  • in which bar soaps typically use sodium hydroxide for the lye.

  • Sodium hydroxide can be obtained by leaching ashes with water, which yields a solution of sodium hydroxide due to its substantial presence in the ashes. 


Objective

  • Making different types of soap

  • Determine the effectiveness of different types of soap in inhibiting bacterial growth

  • Analyze the soap:

    • fill 3 test tubes one-third of the way full with deionized water

    • place a small amount of soap in each test tube and mix well

  • Test the pH:

    • using the first test tube, determine the pH. use a glass stirring rod to wet the tip, then touch the pH paper. use the color indicator to determine the pH.

    • The pH level would determine a soap’s corrosiveness and effectiveness.


Hypothesis

  • Coconut oil would produce a much more like soap than others since it thickness would apply a greater consistency than other oil

  • Avocado oil would make a more liquid base since the properties of avocado would is liquid and doesn't have a thick like the garlic oil

  • Coconut oil Ph will be less than others because it is less corrosive than others


Variables

  • Independent Variable

    • Type of oil used (coconut oil, garlic oil, avocado oil, sesame oil)

  • Dependent Variable

    • pH level of the soap

  • Constants

    • Equipment used (such as a stainless steel pot, thermometer, and scale)

    • Method of mixing and blending the ingredients

    • The environment where the experiment is conducted (such as temperature and humidity)


Materials

  • Coconut Oil

  • Garlic Oil

  • Avocado Oil

  • Lye

  • Distilled water

  • Soap molds

  • Scale

  • Thermometer

  • Safety Equipment

  • PH paper

  • Spoon

  • Plate

  • Burner


Procedure

  1. Pour 3 tablespoons of oil into a stainless steel or heat-resistant plastic plate(Pot).

  2. Heat the oil on low heat until it is melted.

  3. Remove the plate from the heat and set it aside to cool.

  4. Put two tablespoons of lye into a separate container and 2 tablespoons of distilled water into another container.

  5. Slowly pour the lye into the water, stirring constantly until it is completely dissolved

  6. Let the solution heat up slowly 

  7. Allow the lye  solution to cool for some time

  8. Once both the oil mixture and Lye solution are around 38°C, slowly pour the lye solution into the plate with the oils.

  9. Stir the mixture with a stick blender until it reaches a trace, which is a thick and pudding-like consistency. This can take 5-10 minutes.

  10. Pour the mixture into soap molds.

  11. Cover the molds with a towel or blanket to keep the heat in and allow the soap to go through the saponification process.

  12. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks, until it has hardened and is no longer soft to the touch.

  13. Remove the soap from the molds and cut it into bars.

  14. Place water on the surface of the bar of soap.

  15. Rub the water onto the soap until it lathers.

  16. Dip the pH strip in the bubbles.

  17. Check the pH level from the strip.


Results

  • In our observation, coconut oil was the most suitable for creating soap since it was able to make a thick and steady product while avocado and garlic did not work as well as coconut did

  • Our experiment was relatively successful as all the soap solutions came out with a pH of around 11 to 13 (level 12 is indicated as where a normal soap would be at). Nevertheless, there were still some slight differences.

  • Coconut oil is leaning more towards 12 and 13, and the rest resembles more closely to level 11.

  • We can conclude that coconut oil is the most effective material for making soap out of the rest.


Factors that can Make the Experiment More Accurate

  • Consistency in the temperature

  • Consistency is the stirring of substances

  • Time (all soaps being made at the same time)


Conclusion

  • Different types of material can create a difference in the properties of a product

  • The properties that are changed throughout the different types of material used are color, smell, properties of matter, and the level of acidity.

  • Using the pH property, we can then determine the effectiveness of each soap.


Work Cited

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