If I test different substances on aluminum, then Drano will be the most effective at dissolving the metal because it contains Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), which is a strong base known to react with aluminum. I also predict that KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) will show a strong reaction for the same reason. Molar Mass is when every chemical has a different weight. Potassium Hydroxide is an alkali metal, and if it touches your skin will start a process called Saponification, which means it will take the fats in your skin and make them “soapy.” Sodium hydroxide is also an alkali metal and can pull moisture out of the air. And just like its chemical cousin KOH, they share some similar personalities, such as saponification( NaOH is how we make soap bars), and they both are highly exothermic when put in water, they are both small white solids, and have a high ph of 14, meaning they are very strong.

Aluminum is a very reactive metal, but it usually doesn't rust because it has a thin, invisible 'skin' called aluminum oxide. Strong cleaners like Green Gobbler, KOH, and Drano are bases.' These chemicals are able to eat through that protective skin. Once the skin is gone, the chemical reacts with the raw aluminum to turn the solid metal into a liquid solution and hydrogen gas. This is why I saw bubbles during my experiment. Molar Mass is when every chemical has a different weight. Potassium Hydroxide is analkai metal, and if it touches your skin will start a process called Saponification, which means it will take the fats in your skin and make them “soapy.” Sodium hydroxide is also an alkali metal and can pull moisture out of the air. And just like its chemical cousin KOH, they share some similar personalities, such as saponification( NaOH is how we make soap bars), and they both are highly exothermic when put in water, they are both small white solids, and have a high Ph of 14, meaning they are very strong.

Independent: I tested four different things (Drano, KOH, Bleach, and Green Gobbler) to see which one worked best. Dependent: The rate of decomposition Controlled: I used the same type of aluminum cans,they all began at the same time, they were all outside, and I used the same amount of each substance. Control:I used water as a control to show that the reactions don’t need water other than the KOH, but that’s because it is small white flakes and gets “hot “ when put in water.

1-Open and Empty  the cans   2-sand the cans 3- Fill the can with 100ml 4- put a string through the can’s top  5-fill jugs with the 500ml different cleaners  6-Lower the cans into the cleaners halfway into the middle of the jug  at around 2 cups 7-keep taking the cans out every 30 mins for 15 seconds  8-watch and listen for some change 9-keep repeating 7 for 6 hours 10-leave it outside for 18 hours ( overnight) and then take them out and examine the change

I started at 3:09 PM and ended my experiment at 9:32 AM. The Drano surprisingly did nothing other than foam a little. The KOH, though, after the first break, did start foaming, but not a lot, so after 45 minutes, I added more potassium hydroxide, which helped since it started to bubble and fizz, and if you listened, you could hear it. The bleach did nothing at all other than change the colour slightly, but the green gobbler did have an effect and slowly broke the first can!      4 hours after the start of the experiment I added as a little mini experiment within an experiment, some aluminum foil and scrunched them into balls, putting them into the KOH and green gobbler which had a huge effect on the gobbler making it fume.

My experiment lasted a total of 18 hours. I was surprised to see that the Drano did not dissolve the aluminum can at all; it only turned the liquid a little bit gray. The bleach was also disappointing; it made the water cloudy and turned the can a darker color, but the metal stayed solid.  The Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) finally dissolved the can, but it took a long 17 hours! This confused me at first because KOH has a very high pH, which usually means it should be powerful. However, the most shocking result was the Green Gobbler. Even though it doesn't have 'harsh' chemicals, it dissolved the can in only 1 hour and 24 minutes.  While researching why the KOH took so long, I discovered that comparing these chemicals by weight (grams) isn't the best way to do it. Since KOH molecules are heavier than NaOH molecules, 10 grams of KOH actually has fewer 'active' particles than 10 grams of NaOH, to make the data i used molar mass.

After running my experiment for over 18 hours—from 3:09 PM all the way until 9:32 AM the next morning—I found some very interesting results! My goal was to see which chemical would have the strongest reaction with an aluminum can. Even though I thought they might all work similarly, they were actually very different. The Drano and the bleach were the "losers" of the experiment because they didn't really do anything; the Drano just foamed a little bit, and the bleach only changed the color of the liquid slightly. However, the Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) and the Green Gobbler were much more exciting. After I added a bit more KOH at the 45-minute mark, it really started to bubble and fizz loud enough to hear! But the true "winner" of the experiment was the Green Gobbler because it was the only chemical strong enough to slowly break all the way through the first aluminum can. I also learned something really cool during my "mini-experiment" four hours after I started. When I added scrunched-up balls of aluminum foil to the KOH and the Green Gobbler, it caused a huge reaction! The Green Gobbler started to fume intensely. I believe this happened because the thin foil has more surface area than the thick wall of a can, which lets the chemical touch more of the metal at once. This proves that while some chemicals are stronger than others, the shape and thickness of the metal also matter. Overall, this experiment showed me that Green Gobbler is a much more powerful chemical for dissolving aluminum than the other household cleaners I tested.

The results of my experiment are very important for everyday life, especially when it comes to plumbing and safety. Many people use drain cleaners like Drano or Green Gobbler to fix clogged pipes, but some pipes in older homes are made of different metals. My experiment shows that certain chemicals, like Green Gobbler, are extremely strong and can actually eat through aluminum. If a plumber used a chemical that was too strong for the type of pipe in a house, they could accidentally cause a leak by dissolving the connector of the pipe itself! Another application for this study is in recycling. Since I discovered that the Green Gobbler reacted much faster with the thin aluminum foil than the thick can, it shows how "surface area" affects how fast we can break down metals. This information could be used by scientists who are looking for faster ways to recycle aluminum scrap. Finally, my experiment is a good safety reminder: you should never mix chemicals or put them in metal containers without knowing if they will react, because the "fuming" and "fizzing" I saw show that a dangerous chemical reaction can happen very quickly!

The jugs used for the experiment were larger than necessary. This caused the liquid to spread out, which likely slowed down the reaction rate between the substance and the aluminum. There was not enough Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) in the solution to fully react with the metal. The reaction stopped because the KOH was used up, and didn't react quickly, taking its time.

Aluminum Association, The. (2025). Aluminum Beverage Can Moves from Recycling Bin to Newly Formed Can. aluminum.org Alviar-Agnew, M. & Agnew, H. (2025). Reactions of Acids and Bases. Chemistry LibreTexts. chem.libretexts.org Barron, Andrew R. (2020). Chemistry of the Main Group Elements. ChemLibreTexts. chem.libretexts.org Clorox Company. (2021). Safety Data Sheet: Clorox Original Bleach. thecloroxcompany.com EMBIBE. (2024). Reaction of Aluminum with Acids and Bases. embibe.com Green Gobbler. (n.d.). Liquid Drain Clog Dissolver. greengobbler.com Harshan, Anya. Personal Interview. 9 February 2026 Hradil, Vince. (2025). Synthesis of Alum from Aluminum Foil Experiment. Chemistry LibreTexts. chem.libretexts.org PubChem. (2025). Sodium Hydroxide (Compound). National Library of Medicine. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov S.C. Johnson & Son. (n.d.). Drano Max Gel Clog Remover. scjp.com

I would like to acknowledge my dad for helping with the actual experiment and handling the chemicals, and my mom for buying the materials and giving me advice on what to write. I would also like to acknowledge Anya Harshan for giving me the idea and guiding me through the experiment.