I’m not sure exactly why, but my post on ocean foam in Australia continues to be one of the most popular.
Now you can make ocean foam in your classroom! I suppose this was planned for a science class, but why not use it in geography or world history?
Instructions here: What Molecules are in Ocean Foam? (repeated below the fold). This is one of several easy-to-do science experiments promoted at the Pfizer Foundation Discovery Lab at the New York Hall of Science.
Also see this explanation from New Scientist about how foam forms on ocean waves in the first place.
Go ahead. Cover the entire school with it.
What Molecules are in Ocean Foam?
[From the Pfizer Foundation Discovery Lab at the New York Hall of Science]
Materials Needed:
- microcentrifuge tubes (VWR 60819-794)
- amber bottle with fat (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 2g/liter in water; Sigma Catalog L-5750)
- amber bottle with salt (salt, 24g/liter in water)
- amber bottle with protein (bovine serum albumin (BSA), 40g/liter in water; In Sigma Catalog, P5619)
- dropper bottle with water
- tape
- pencil
- marker
- (We purchased all our plastic bottles from US Plastic Corp 1-800-537-9724)
The Science Behind the Investigation:
This experiment is an investigation about the different molecules in ocean water – salt, protein, and fat. The protein and fat molecules come from the breakdown of dead sea creatures. When each of the molecules is added to a tube of water, and shaken up (to mimic the churning of the ocean waves); students can deduce out which molecules make ocean foam . The protein and fat molecules make foam because they cluster around air bubbles and hold them in place. The salt molecules don’t cluster around air bubbles, so they don’t make foam.Related Science:
Protein and fat molecules also make foams in milkshake, meringue and soap.
Picture of ocean foam forming, from FreeNaturePictures.com
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Thanks for the feedback. Nice to know the details matter.
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Okay, I’ve seen the foam waves make the rounds in email forwards of late. But I read and saw the pictures here first! Of course, most of the technical explanations were left out, but your readers know the cause. Yeah!
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[…] Update: Make ocean foam in your classroom, and discover which molecules make the foam. Instructions here, from the Pfizer Foundation Discovery Lab at the New York Hall of Science. […]
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