Australia's Science Forum

Does anyone have an idea how to remove Potassium Permanganate stains (from Yesterday) from a painted ceiling and the vinyl floor in the new Prep. Room?
So I can tell the teacher who decided to do an experiment in here whilst I was moving equipment into other rooms how they can do it.

Did a search on here, and acidified Hydrogen Peroxide seems to be the go. Haven't used it though. Few drops of 2m HCl in 3% H2O2.

This mixture (acidified H₂O₂) worked very well on stains on funnels and glassware .

I'd give it a go.

Wendy

I recently used Oxalic acid solution for a student with potassium permanganate stains on his shirt. Wash hands well as oxalic acid is poisonous.

Ellice

I'm curious... what was the teacher actually doing to get it on both the ceiling and the floor???

Is this an "OOOOOOPPPSSSSSSS" on the part of the teacher???

well dont worry about the teachers Tracie and I did the Jeanie in the bottle trick and dont know what we did wrong but we have lots and lots of black on our ceiling and we can blame no one but us . We followed the book to the letter. Opppps.
lots of oh S_ _ _ T from the year 11 class we were showing what we learnt in sydney.
It just shows that and experiment can go wrong that is why we ALWAYS need saftey gear.

KIMMY

hahahahahahahaha kimmy!!! That's pretty funny

Kimmy
I was wondering if you drank the contents of the bottle before
you preformed the trick??? :cla

Thanks all for your help. Not sure how long the teacher spent cleaning the floor and the ceiling but when I came in this morning all the stains were gone.

For those of us that didn't go to Sydney you'll have to let us know what the experiment was?

Genie in the Bottle
they say to use
30% Hydrogen Peroxide aprox 100ml
tissue paper
1 teaspon Maganese dioxide
cotton thread
bottle

make a lollie from the tissue paper with a cnetre of manganese dioxide adntie a length of string to it aprox 20cm long.
pour the hydrogen Hydroxide into the blttle and gentle lower the manganese dioxide into the hydrogen peroxide.
When they react you should get a gently rection of smoke

BUT
we got a huge reaction of smoke
followed with a sligh bang
than lots of back over the ceiling and on the floor

definetly the WOW factor

dont know what went wrong
to scared to try again
will try out in paddock next time.

Kimmy & Tracie

I can just imagine that Kimmy!! I have a great mental picture Reminds me of the time I was perfecting the diet coke and mentos experiment... and came into the staff room to do something to it, the foil broke, mentos fell in and off it went all over the ceiling, teachers desks, back of the door, and lucky for me someone was able to open the door and let me out pretty quick so damage was 'relatively minimal' although there is still evidence of it today!

Oh, and it should read 20cm, not 20ml of string

Rosalie! Laugh, what a hoot! I can just imagine coke going everywhere.

Yes I remember doing the sparking grape trick in the staffroom microwave, with the fascinated art teacher as my accomplice, until the teachers complained. Less damage than diet coke though!

For those who are going to ask, cut a grape almost in two laterally, leaving a little hinge of skin joining the two halves. Place the cut grape on a saucer with the halves standing up side by side (since they are still joined), and put into the microwave. Set the microwave to 30seconds - but you won't need all that time. Press start and watch. On a good day you will see little sparks generating on the hinge of grape skin, and on an excellent day the two halves will blow apart with force. Totally cool, and thus far I haven't received an adequate explanation of why it happens.

HAHAHA Rosalie & Smiley - you guys should write a book on ways to 'get teachers back accidentally on purpose'!!!!

Were they REALLY accidents.... come on now ... you can tell me....I won't tell anyone else!

Now I have in my head Rosalie walking around her school until she finds the maximum teacher density & accidentally knocking off the lid.... And Smiley blowing up microwaves with grapes all over the place!!!!

You guys crack me up (even if I am making some of it up!!!)