At Home Science Experiment: Why we need soap when washing our hands

Here's an easy experiment to do at home with the kids! Science can be fun, sometimes the challenge is figuring out how to demonstrate it properly to make it fun and educational!

See a video demonstration of this experiment on my IGTV channel: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-hw5BTght/?igshid=u4y9op380qu4

What you'll need:

A bowl with water

Ground pepper

A bar of soap

Germs and microbes are continuously attracted to the natural oils on your skin. You pick them up constantly as you move throughout your day. Many people are under the assumption that soap kills bacteria when being used to wash your hands or your body. Soap doesn't actually kill germs and bacteria, it simply acts as a mediator between water and the germs themselves. 

Soap is made up of molecules with two different ends: hydrophilic and hydrophobic. The hydrophilic end attracts water and the hydrophobic end attracts oil. This is how soap enables running water to mix with the oil and germs on your skin and to wash them away when you rinse your hands. 

The video will demonstrate how soap helps to repel germs, in a way that is visible to the human eye!