Soapmaking

In this Activity, students make soap using vegetable shortening as a base. They then test its properties and compare it to commercial soap. This Activity introduces students to an important reaction of organic chemistry. It helps students connect chemistry to something that they see and use every day and provides an opportunity for cross-curricular work. It could be connected to history or literature classes that discuss the lives of pioneers and homesteaders who often made their own household products. It also connects to industrial chemistry.