CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Investigation of
foaming capacity
of different
soap

submitted by: Alaina Raju 12a

 Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge God almighty who has blessed me with

the knowledge and strength to fulfill this assignment.
With immense pleasure, I would like to express my deepest gratitude
to my dearest Principal Rev.Fr. Santhosh Mundanmani for providing
me the opportunity to prosper my skills in this project.
My parents were always a solid rock behind me in all my endeavors
which I am always thankful.
This project was successful due to the guidance of my chemistry
teachers Mrs. Srilatha K.G and Mrs. Jesslin Jose whose valuable
presence throughout the assignment added immense value and
completion.
 CONTENT

 Introduction
 Theory
 Objective
 Requirements
 Procedure
 Observation
 Result
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
 INTRODUCTION

Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of higher fatty acids like stearic,
palmitic and oleic acids can be either saturated or unsaturated. They
contain a long hydrocarbon chain of about 10-20 carbon with one
carboxylic acid group as the functional group.

A soap molecule a tadpole shaped structure, whose ends have different

polarities. At one end is the long hydrocarbon chain that is non-polar
and hydrophobic, i.e., insoluble in water but oil soluble. At the other
end is the short polar carboxylate ion which is hydrophilic i.e., water
soluble but insoluble in oil and grease.
When soap is shaken with water it becomes a soap solution that is
colloidal in nature. Agitating it tends to concentrate the solution on the
surface and causes foaming. This helps the soap molecules make a
unimolecular film on the surface of water and to penetrate the fabric.

The long non-polar end of a soap molecule that are hydrophobic,

gravitate towards and surround the dirt (fat or oil with dust absorbed in
it). The short polar end containing the carboxylate ion, face the water
away from the dirt. A number of soap molecules surround or encircle
dirt and grease in a clustered structure called ‘micelles’, which
encircles such particles and emulsify them.

Cleansing action of soaps decreases in hard water. Hard water contains

Calcium and magnesium ions which react with sodium carbonate to
produce insoluble carbonates of higher fatty acids.
 THEORY

The foaming capacity of soap depends upon the nature of the soap and
its concentration. this may be compared by shaking equal volumes of
solutions of different samples having the same concentration with same
force for the same amount of time. The solutions are then allowed to
stand when the foam produced during shaking disappears gradually.
The time taken for the foam disappear in each sample is determined.
The longer the time taken for the disappearance of the foam for the
given sample of soap, greater is its foaming capacity and cleansing.
 OBJECTIVE

To compare the foaming capacities of five different

commercial soaps.

MATERIAL REQUIREMENT

 5 glasses, measuring cup (50 ml), stop watch.

 Chemical requirements: five different samples of soap and
distilled water.
 PROCEDURE

o Take 5 glasses and name them 1,2,3,4,5.

o Fill them with 50 ml of water.
o Take five different soaps.
o Add 2 g of soap into the distilled water and mix it well.
o Shake the glass vigorously till the foam starts to appear.
o Do the same for all the glasses with equal force
o Start the timer immediately and notice the rate of
disappearance of 3cm froth.
 OBSERVATION

The following outcomes were noticed at the end of the

experiment.

SNO. Soap samples Volume Volume Time

of soap of water taken

1. Dove 2ml 50ml 14min

2. Chandrika 2ml 50ml 15min
3. Cinthol 2ml 50ml 9min
4. Lux 2ml 50ml 25min
5. Imperial 2ml 50ml 30min
 RESULT

The cleansing capacity of the soaps taken is in the order:

Imperial > Lux > Chandrika > Dove > Cinthol From this
experiment we can infer that Imperial has the highest foaming
capacity
Cinthol, on the other hand, have taken the least amount of time
for the disappearance of foam.

CONCLUSION

The soap for which the time taken for the disappearance of
foam is highest has maximum foaming capacity and is the best
quality among the soaps tested.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.icbse.com/projects/chemistry-
project-on-foaming-capacity-of-soaps-
mm1
 https://thechemistryguru.com/chemistry-
project/chemistry-project-foaming-
capacity-soaps/