Australia's Science Forum

Hi Everyone,

A teacher has just asked me if they are still allowed to do the Man Dingo Experiment???

Its the burning of sugar and sulphuric acid i believe.

She thinks it may be banned. She was going to do it in her room in the fume cupboard.

Any answers???

Thanks heaps.

I have never heard it called Man Dingo experiment. However we do this experiment outdoors. The beaker of sugar is placed on a layer of sand on a metal tray. The acid is poured over the sugar and everyone stands well back and not downwind. I think it is far more effective viewing the reaction in the open than trying to watch it being done in a fume cupboard. I do put the whole experiment in the fume cupboard afterwards for it to cool down and to be disposed of later. Most of the time (if not all of the time) it is me who demonstrates the experiment for the teachers and their classes.
I can't see that there would be any problem for your teacher to do the experiment in the fume cupboard as long as they knew what they were doing.

We do this in a fume cupboard! 50g sugar moisten with water, 35ml conc H2SO4 in a tall form beaker.

Haha... I've only ever heard this referred to as the elephant poo experiment.

We do it as demo only in fumecupboartd

WE DON'T DO IT ANY MORE BUT WHEN WE DID IT WAS IN THE FUME CUPBOARD.

Be REALLY careful of referring to it as the ManDingo experiment Far far far from PC these days.

And yes, we always did it in a fume cupboard too. The beaker isn't always easy to clean after either, although Napisan works.

We do the same fumecupboard demo only. A few years ago I had a teacher ask for 2l Conc. Sulphuric acid, 1kg of sugar and a bucket. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" but we did it at Uni!!!!!!!!

If this is the carbon pillar I do it too as a demo for year 12 chem students, in a fume cupboard. I use 75mL conc. sulphuric, and 100g sugar moistened with 20mL water, all in a 250mL measuring cylinder instead of a beaker. I use the method I think was in Heinemann (I'll find out where it was, I only have a copy of it!)