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Posted

You could react sodium hydroxide with aluminum. Make up a saturated NaOH solution then drop some Al foil into it and watch what happens. The Al will get dissolved and will generate heat in the process so if you keep adding Al, the solution will reach 100C. You can clearly see the steam being generated. Concentrated NaOH solution is highly corrosive so be sure to handle it with great care. Also this reaction generates hydrogen gas which is flammable and not healthy to inhale. You don't need a fume hood though, just don't keep your head directly above the reaction vessel and you should be fine. To make this more interesting for your class mates, you could ignite the H gas as its generated. Unless you are reacting massive amounts of Al with NaOH at once, the flame produced will be very mild and you'll probably have to keep reigniting it. In fact, I'd say its a good idea to ignite the H gas produced because people will learn more from the demonstration. I recommend bringing a barbeque lighter cuz its safer and more convenient than using a regular lighter.

Posted

Assuming acids, bases, and all of those are off the table...you could always do the vinegar and steel wool reaction..OR the hot ice one with sodium acetate and baking soda..

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