Exploding Potassium: A Dangerous and Mesmerizing Experiment

Sarah Spivey is a Meteorologist who performs demonstrations and explains the science behind them on GMSA@9 every Wednesday. Her Science with Sarah series is in partnership with the San Antonio Zoo and is copyright KSAT 2023 – All rights reserved.

To conduct this experiment, you will need a small piece of potassium (which can be purchased on Amazon), a paper towel, and a beaker of water. Make sure to wear eye and hand protection before starting the experiment.

The steps to complete this experiment are as follows:

1. Put on eye and hand protection.

2. Dry a piece of potassium on a paper towel.

3. Place the potassium in a bowl of water and step back.

4. Watch as the potassium reacts explosively in the water, generating heat and sometimes catching fire during the reaction due to its exothermic nature.

Potassium reacts with water (H2O) to form potassium hydroxide and hydrogen gas, which generates heat due to its exothermic nature. If some of the potassium catches fire during the experiment, it’s important to have eye and hand protection to prevent injury or burns from flying debris or sparks from igniting other flammable materials nearby.