Chemistry/Science Course Blast Off

A classroom lesson plan for JCE’s In the Classroom

by Robert Ause
(bob.ause@gmail.com)

Start the year in Chemistry (or Physical Science) off with a

“BANG,” proverbially and literally. Here follows an overview of a lesson
plan for a demonstration and discussion about observations,
hypotheses and how science works to come up with new answers to
old questions.

Overview: In 1997 Addison Bain, a liquid rocket fuel specialist with

NASA proposed a different explanation for the cause of the igniting of
the Graf Zeppelin: Hindenburg airship. Bain’s initial motivation for
revisiting the accepted explanation was based in part on his
observations of how hydrogen burns in air. In this demonstration
students observe hydrogen gas quietly burning and then exploding.
They share their observations collectively and propose explanations for
what they observe. After the demonstration and discussion, the class
then considers the question, “Did the hydrogen gas ignite and initiate
the Hindenburg disaster?”

Materials and Resources:

• A small can with a metal base such as an empty Pringle ® Potato
Chips can
• Hydrogen gas supplied by a compressed gas cylinder
• Flinn Scientific Inc.’s Chem-Fax Sheet that comes with the
purchase of the hydrogen gas from Flinn Scientific
• News footage of the explosion of the Hindenburg airship
• Information about Addison Bain’s more recent theory for the
cause of the Hindenburg disaster. (Addison Bain’s theory has
been shown in an episode of Secrets of the Dead: “What
Happened to the Hindenburg?” 60 min., PBS Home Video, 2000.
An episode of Mythbusters tested his idea. Part of the
Mythbusters and PBS Home Video material is available on
YouTube. You can also find more information about the debate
over the theory by looking up “Addison Bain Hindenburg theory”
in a search engine.)

Introduction: You might introduce the class demonstration like this:

“Chemistry is a science, which explores matter and energy and how
they interact. As a science it depends on observation, reflecting on,
and testing the explanations. Today, I will show you a demonstration
of burning and exploding hydrogen gas. I want you to observe the
demonstration carefully, not just the obvious aspects but details before
and after. I want you to use all of your senses (except for taste). We
will list our collective observations on the board and then try to come
up with hypotheses or explanations for what caused these
observations. After we have explored the demonstration we will use
our observations to ask questions about what caused the Hindenburg
airship to explode and burn.”

Instructions for teacher in preparing for the demonstration:

Obtain an empty, clean, Pringles® can. Punch a hole in the metal
bottom using a 16 penny nail. Cut a larger hole in the foil-lined
cardboard side of the cylinder a centimeter or two down from the top
so that the plastic top still seals the can completely. The purpose of
this larger hole is to insert the hose for filling the hydrogen gas. The
hole should be as large as necessary to fit the hose. I have always
filled the Pringle can with hydrogen gas from a small compressed gas
cylinder. I have never filled the can using a hydrogen generating
reaction.
***Caution*** Flushing the can with hydrogen, thereby filling
the can as completely as possible with hydrogen gas alone is
very important. Incompletely filled cans produce an explosive
mixture of oxygen and hydrogen which explode, or “launch”
upward when you light the gas.
When you are preparing to conduct the demonstration, place the
can upside down, with the metal bottom pointing upward. Be sure
there are no light fixtures or any detector or projection equipment
above the can. The can usually hits the ceiling about 10 feet above.

Instructions for conducting the demonstration: First, show the

class the emptied Pringle can. Pass the can around the class, asking
students to feel the can, to look and smell inside. They will look, touch
and smell the can after the reaction as well. Carry out the filling of the
can in front of the class and ask them to begin their observations with
the filling of the can. I ask them to listen to the sound of the escaping
gas with me as an important observation. With the Pringle can
inverted, so the metal bottom plate with the nail hole is up, flush and
fill the cylinder with hydrogen gas. Listen carefully to the tone of the
escaping gas coming out of the nail hole. As the escaping gas
becomes richer in hydrogen, the tone goes up. (Hydrogen gas has the
same effect when passing across the metal base as when helium gas
passes across a person’s vocal cords, the tone is higher.) When the
tone plateaus, place your finger over the nail hole, turn off the
hydrogen gas flow and set the filling cylinder out of the way. Have a
student turn out the lights. Remove your finger and light the gas
coming out. If the can is sufficiently filled with hydrogen, then a small,
faint, blue flame burns out of the hole. (If it is not filled enough then it
explodes and the can shoots up when lit. This is loud and alarming and
is prevented by having mostly hydrogen in the can. See Caution
above.) Once the hydrogen gas is lit, step back. Ask students to make
observations. I warn them that the can will explode upward. The
difficult-to-see flame grows smaller and even disappears. As the flame
disappears into the can, there is a barely audible drop in tone from the
can just before the explosion. I ask the students to watch the flame
and listen for the drop in tone since the explosion can be very alarming
for some. It takes about 1-2 minutes of waiting between the lighting of
the hydrogen gas and the explosion. Immediately after the explosion, I
pass the can around again so that the students can touch, look at and
smell the can.

Instructions for the discussion: Following the explosion and as

students are passing the can around, I solicit observations and write
them on the board. I have had up to 30 different observations
generated by this demonstration. After generating the list, I then ask
them which observations are related to physical properties (or have
causes rooted in Physics) and which are related to chemical properties
(or have causes rooted in Chemistry). For example, the lack of smell in
the can is a physical property and the changing pitch of the escaping
gas when filling is a “physical” effect. The presence of the flame and
explosion are chemical properties. With this list of observations we
discuss causes and propose some hypotheses to explain the various
observations. Some explanations the students know and some need to
be expounded by the teacher. Some can be left unexplained. We then
list some physical and chemical properties of hydrogen gas that we
observed.
After a good discussion here, I introduce the Hindenburg disaster
of 1937. Many students have never heard of this. I typically show the
footage of the explosion and burning airship. I ask the question: “Did
the Hindenburg catch on fire due to igniting hydrogen gas?” I ask
students to support their answer with observations from our
demonstration and what we learned of hydrogen’s properties. I
introduce Addison Bain’s theory and share with them his questions and
doubts. We consider evidence for and against his theory. There are
many talking points that a teacher can take from this point. For
example, one can discuss how difficult it is to consider a new scientific
explanation after another has been accepted for so long. One can talk
about the scientific method that Bain used to explore his hypothesis
and generate his theory. One can also look at the refutation that
others have done in the wake of the publishing of the Bain theory.
(See the following website:
http://spot.colorado.edu/~dziadeck/zf/LZ129fire.htm)

Resources:
Secrets of the Dead: “What Happened to the Hindenburg?” 60 min.,
PBS Home Video,
2000.

Addison Bain. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addison_Bain

Flinn Scientific Inc., (1991). Hydrogen gas: The Pringle can. Chem-Fax
Sheet.
Pub. No.: 397.00.