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======‘Dissolving’ Styrofoam in Acetone======


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**Materials: **{{$demo.materials_description}}\\
**Difficulty: **{{$demo.difficulty_description}}\\
**Safety: **{{$demo.safety_description}}\\
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**Categories:** {{$demo.categories}}
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**Alternative titles:** Dissolving Polystyrene in Acetone
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====Summary====                   
{{$demo.summary}}


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====Procedure====  
  - Place a small volume of acetone in a glass beaker or other suitable container.  
  - Take pieces of expanded polystyrene foam (such as packaging material or cups).  
  - Drop the polystyrene foam into the acetone and observe.  
  - Notice that the foam rapidly collapses, seemingly disappearing.  
  - Compare the large starting volume of polystyrene with the small residue left behind.



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====Links==== 
Styrofoam VS Acetone - Let's Melt This: 
{{youtube>jIhvJozNplE?}}\\
A huge bar of polystyrene vs. a few milliliters of acetone - MEL Science: 
{{youtube>FrBC9h8fuyo?}}\\
📄 ‘Dissolving’ polystyrene in acetone - Royal Society of Chemistry: [[https://edu.rsc.org/experiments/dissolving-polystyrene-in-acetone/1721.article]]\\


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====Variations====
  * Try using different sources of expanded polystyrene, such as cups, packaging peanuts, or insulation boards.  
  * Collect the remaining polymer and allow it to harden into a dense plastic solid.  
  * Test other solvents (such as ethyl acetate or toluene) to compare their effects on polystyrene.  
  * Measure how much polystyrene can be absorbed into a fixed volume of acetone.


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====Safety Precautions====
  * Wear safety goggles and gloves when handling acetone.  
  * Conduct the demonstration in a well-ventilated area or fume hood to avoid inhaling vapors.  
  * Keep acetone away from flames or sparks, as it is highly flammable.  
  * Dispose of the resulting plastic residue and solvent safely, following local chemical disposal guidelines.  
  * Do not allow students to touch acetone directly.


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====Questions to Consider====
  * Why does polystyrene foam collapse so dramatically in acetone? 
  * Why does the volume decrease so much, yet some solid polymer remains?  
  * How does this demonstration illustrate the difference between a material’s structure (foam vs. solid polymer) and its composition?  
  * What environmental concerns are related to polystyrene waste and solvents like acetone?


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