Autocatalysis

Autocatalysis is when something helps itself (kind of like when you give yourself a pat on the back for doing something good). In chemistry, autocatalysis is when a chemical reaction helps create more of itself, so it's like the reaction is making copies of itself. Imagine taking some clay and making a small clay ball. You can take that clay ball and smash it, and it will break up into lots of little pieces, but if you keep smashing the pieces together, eventually you'll get a new clay ball! That's autocatalysis.