Dancing Gummi Bear Demonstration

You've probably guessed I really like demonstrations that involve fire. Colored fire is even better. I'm also a big of candy, though if it's candy that I'd want to eat, I wouldn't sacrifice it for a chemistry demonstration. There is no problem with this demonstration, since the candies, Gummi Bears™, aren't sold individually. You can eat your candy, plus play with fire. What could be better? Oh... you can learn about product-favored chemical reactions, too. What you do in this demonstration is add a Gummi Bear to a test tube of melted potassium chlorate. The sugar in the bear reacts with the potassium chlorate and oxygen to produce a spectacularly energetic reaction, complete with purple flames. The bear appears to dance.

If you set up this demo, you might also want to try the Instant Fire Demonstration, since it uses basically the same materials. As for the Gummi Bears... another fun activity is to dip them into liquid nitrogen, then immerse them in the flame of a Bunsen burner. I'm sure that illustrates some cryogenic principle, but mainly it's just an entertaining project. Have fun!

Dancing Gummi Bear Demonstration | Lab Safety Quiz