Slime Science Kit booklet

INSTRUCTION BOOKLET

WARNING! • Not suitable for children under 8 years. For use under adult supervision.

• Contains some chemicals which may present a hazard to health.

• Read the instructions before use, follow them and keep them for reference.

• Do not ingest ingredients or allow them in contact with the mouth and eyes.

• Keep small children and animals away from experiments.

• Keep the experimental set out of reach of children under 8 years old.

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SLIME SCIENCE KIT CONTENTS OF KIT • • • • • • • •

Rectangular polypropylene sheet Sachet of cornstarch (approx 25g) for use in experiment 2 Dropping pipettes (4) Wooden stirrer Plastic cup and lid (2) Plastic spoon Sachet of powdered slime 50ml test tube with measurements

Other materials which are not provided will be required for some experiments. These will be identified in the ‘Materials Required” list and should be readily available for the supermarket or home pantry.

Note: where equipment is required for subsequent experiments, ensure it is washed and dried before re-use.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents 1 Safety Information 2 Introduction 3 Experiment 1 - Liquid Races 6 Experiment 2 - Oobleck, what’s that?

10 Experiment 3 - Just add water 12 Experiment 4 - Shlime 15 All images and drawings © Science and Nature Pty Ltd except for those specifically credited. ©Copyright 2018 Science and Nature Pty Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher.

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WARNING!

Only for use by children over 8 years of age. Only for use under the supervision of an adult.

CAUTION!

Contains some chemicals which may present a hazard to health if mis-used.

Read instructions before use, follow them and keep for reference.

Do not ingest the chemicals or allow them to come into contact with the mouth and eyes.

Keep small children and animals away from experiments. Store the set out of reach of small children.

Wash hands thoroughly after carrying out each experiment.

Refer to “Advice for Supervising adults” and “Safety Rules” before proceeding.

GENERAL FIRST AID INFORMATION In case of eye contact: Wash out eye with plenty of water, holding eye open if necessary. Seek immediate medical advice. If swallowed: Wash out mouth with water, drink some fresh water. Do NOT induce vomiting. Seek immediate medical advice.

In case of inhalation: Remove person to fresh air.

In case of doubt seek medical advice without delay. Take the chemical together with the container with you. In case of injury always seek medical advice.

ALL CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH CARE.

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Advice for supervising adults Read and follow these instructions, the safety rules and the first aid information and keep them for reference.

The supervising adult should satisfy himself or herself that the experiment is suitable for the child’s abilities before proceeding.

The incorrect use of chemicals can cause injury and damage to health.

Only carry out the experiment listed in the instructions.

This set is for use only by children over 8 years of age.

The supervising adult should discuss the warnings and safety information with the child or children before commencing the experiment.

The area surrounding the experiment should be kept clear of any obstructions and away from the storage of food. It should be well lit and ventilated and close to a water supply.

Safety Rules Do read and follow these instructions before use, and keep for reference.

Do keep young children and animals away from the experimental area.

Do store experimental sets out of reach of young children.

Do wash hands after carrying out experiments.

Do not allow chemicals to come into contact with the eyes or mouth.

INTRODUCTION Everything around us, including ourselves, is composed of tiny particles, called atoms, that come together to make up the physical states of matter. The ones we commonly experience are gases, liquids and solids.

Common examples of gases are oxygen (in the air we inhale) and carbon dioxide, some of which we breathe out when we exhale.

Water is the most abundant liquid on earth and iron is one of the most abundant solids.

In a solid, the atoms are in a fixed position. When atoms start moving and are no longer fixed, the substance is known as a fluid.

A fluid is a substance that can flow, so both liquids and gases are fluids. Sometimes heating a solid can turn it into a liquid (think about ice becoming water or a knob of butter melting in a hot pan).

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Newtonian fluids were first described by the famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). A Newtonian fluid is one that has a constant viscosity (resistance to flow) regardless of the force that is applied to it.

Examples of Newtonian fluids include water and organic solvents.

Slime is a unique play material that feels gooey and slippery, looks a little bit gross and sometimes behaves in ways you don’t expect.

It belongs to a group of materials known as non-Newtonian fluids.

For non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity changes according to applied force.

Tomato sauce or ketchup is a good example of a non-Newtonian fluid. When you shake a bottle of Tomato sauce (apply force) the sauce becomes less thick and easier to squeeze or pour out (viscosity decreases).

In the following experiments, you will explore the properties of several types of fluids and discover what makes Slime so unique.

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1.

LIQUID RACES

Difficulty: Easy but messy, adult supervision recommended. Ask permission before you raid the pantry or bathroom for materials!

INTRODUCTION Viscosity is a measure of how easily a fluid moves and can vary considerably. In this simple experiment you can race some common household liquids against each other to find out which will be the viscous velocity victor.

MATERIALS REQUIRED • • • • • •

Rectangular polypropylene sheet (supplied) a selection of 4 common household liquids from the following: tomato sauce, vegetable oil, dishwashing liquid, honey or golden syrup, shampoo, conditioner, mayonnaise dropping pipettes (not necessary if above products are in squeeze bottles ) pencil and ruler white paper sheet (optional) paper towel or dish cloth and water for cleaning up

METHOD 1. Assemble all the materials to be used on the kitchen bench next to the sink. Lay the polypropylene sheet flat on the bench on the white paper sheet (makes it easier to see what you are doing).

2. Use the ruler and pencil to mark a line across the shorter edge of the polypropylene sheet, 1 cm down from the top. This will mark the starting line for the race.

3. Place a drop of each selected liquid on the starting line, leaving a 1-2cm space between each sample so they do not run into each other.

4. Stand the sheet upright on the bench with the samples at the top and watch the liquids race to the bottom. Which liquid gets to the bottom first? Which is second, third and last to reach the bench top? Did any sample not reach the bottom at all?

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4. Stand the sheet upright on the kitchen sink and let the race begin! Hold the sheet upright until the first liquid reaches the bottom of the sheet, then lay the sheet back down flat on the bench top .

1. Rule across the polypropylene sheet, one cm down from the top to mark the starting line.

2. Choose your liquids - it is easier if they are in squeeze bottles, otherwise you will need to use a dropper pipette.

5. Use the ruler to measure the distance each liquid has travelled from the starting line - the further the distance travelled, the lower the viscosity.

How do your samples measure up?

3. Place a drop of each liquid on the starting line, spacing them about 2 cm apart so they don’t run into each other.

dishwa shin wins th g liquid e race !

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Method (continued) 5.  Lie the polypropylene sheet flat again. Use the ruler to measure the distance each liquid has travelled from the starting line.

6.  Record the distances in the table (we have filled in the results of our experiment but your results will be different, depending on the liquids you choose to test.)

WHAT’S HAPPENING? Which of the samples tested travelled to the bottom of the sheet first?

In our experiment, the dishwashing liquid was the first to reach the bottom of the sheet.

This sample has the lowest viscosity because it had least resistance to flow.

Which sample travelled the shortest distance?

In our experiment, the mayonnaise hardly moved from the starting point.

This sample had the highest viscosity because it showed the most resistance to flow.

Did any samples travel the same distance?

These samples would have the same viscosity.

Which of the liquids you tested are non-Newtonian fluids? (Hint: what happens if you stir them - apply force)

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Liquid Sample

Distance Travelled (cm)

Golden syrup

13.5

Mayonaise Dishwashing liquid Tomato sauce

1.0 18.0

Viscosity comparison Higher than dishwashing liquid, lower than tomato sauce and mayonaise Highest viscosity Lowest viscosity

9.5

Higher than dishwashing liquid and golden syrup.

Lower than mayonaise.

FURTHER EXPERIMENTATION Temperature can affect viscosity. You can see what effect it has by gently warming a container of honey in some hot water for 5 mins, then repeating the experiment as before.

WHAT HAPPENED? Typically viscosity decreases with increasing temperature so the honey should have become less viscous and therefore travelled further than in the earlier experiment.

How do you think water would compare to the liquids you tested?

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2.

OOBLECK, WHAT’S THAT?

Difficulty: easy but messy, adult supervision recommended

The name derives from a Dr. Suess book , “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” (1949) where a young man struggles to rid his kingdom of a sticky substance known as Oobleck.

It is also the name for cornflour slime, a liquid that sometimes behaves as a solid. Oobleck is an example of a non-Newtonian fluid.

MATERIALS REQUIRED • • • • • • •

Cornstarch sachet (supplied) Water Dropping pipette (supplied) Wooden stirrer (supplied) Plastic cup and lid (supplied) Food colouring (optional) Plastic spoon (supplied)

METHOD 1. Open the sachet of cornflour (approx 25 gms) and pour into the plastic cup.

2. Carefully add water to the cornstarch.

Begin with 12 mls (4 pipettes full). It may be difficult to stir at first but will gradually take on a gooey consistency. The ratio of cornstarch to water is between 1.5 and 2 times. If it is still too stiff, add another 3 mL then 1ml at a time. Have patience, mixing will take up to 10mins.

3. Add a few drops of food colouring, if desired.

4. Test the properties of your Oobleck - dip the plastic spoon into the Oobleck and pull the slime away from the side of the cup.

Does it separate then close over?

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Now its time to get your hands dirty!

5. Dip your fingers gently into the Oobleck and lift some up. Push your fingers together. Does the Oobleck harden then soften as you pull your fingers apart?

6. Tap your fingers sharply on the surface of the Oobleck in the cup.

Do your fingers sink in or bounce off?

WHAT’S HAPPENING? Cornflour is made up of lots of tiny starch particles. When the water is added, the cornstarch particles are suspended in the water. If you let your Oobleck sit for a while, the cornstarch settles at the bottom with a layer of water on the top.

Stirring helps suspend the tiny particles in the water, which acts as a lubricant.

When the slime is moved slowly, the suspended starch particles have time to slip past each other so the Oobleck flows like a liquid.

If you apply a sudden force to it, (like tapping hard with your finger or dragging a spoon through the slime), the particles that are almost touching get suddenly pushed together. The water that was between them moves sideways into the gaps so the lubrication effect is lost and the starch particles touching each other form a solid structure which can no longer flow.

If you let the Oobleck sit long enough (several days at room temperature) the water will evaporate off, leaving the cornstarch behind in the cup.

Note: It is possible that mould may grow in the Oobleck after a few days. In this case please dispose of the Oobleck in the rubbish bin.

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3.

JUST ADD WATER

Difficulty: easy A very common recipe for slime involves the use of PVA (poly vinyl alcohol) and Borax (sodium tetraborate). The product of mixing these two chemicals is a clear, stretchy, bouncy slime.

In this experiment you will use a commercial slime powder which uses material derived from seeds of the carob tree and guar beans.

When the powder is mixed with water the result is a stretchy, gooey slime.

MATERIALS REQUIRED • • • • • •

Sachet of powder slime (supplied) Plastic spoon (supplied) Cold tap water Plastic cup (supplied) Scissors 50 ml test tube with measurements (supplied)

METHOD Follow the instructions as illustrated on the following page.

Depending on the temperature and the speed of mixing, the components may take between 10 and 20 minutes to fully react.

Be patient and keep stirring!

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2. Snip the corner off the sachet and pour the powder into the plastic cup, then add 100mls of cold tap water. You will need to fill up the measuring tube to the 50ml line twice.

1. You will need these components plus scissors and cold tap water.

3. Start stirring. You need to make sure all the powder is fully mixed with the water. BE PATIENT. And keep stirring!

4. After 5 to 10 mins the mixture will start to thicken. Rest for 2 mins then stir again.

5. After 15 mins the mixture will form a thick stream as you lift the spoon out. Keep stirring another 5 mins.

6. At 20 mins the slime should look a bit like this, very thick but it will slip through your fingers if you poke around in it.

7. Nearly there. Now you can keep stirring or massage it with your fingers.

8. The slime reaction is complete when you can do this. Remember to store the slime in the plastic bag .

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WHAT’S HAPPENING? Locust bean gum (from carob seeds) and guar gum (from guar beans) are natural polymers that are used in foods as binding or thickening agents.

The long molecules of guar gum are able to be cross-linked to form slimy, rubbery substances. Locust bean gum interacts synergistically with the guar gum to make a thicker gel.

The slime powder is a careful mix of the two gums plus a small amount of boric acid, which helps to form the cross linking agent when mixed with water.

Guar gum has 5-8 times the thickening power of starch. Compare the texture and feel of the slime you have just made to the Oobleck from the previous experiment. The Oobleck is suspension of starch molecules which will settle out of the water if left undisturbed . The slime polymer links are chemical bonds that effectively create a 3-dimensional gel network in which the water is held so it cannot separate out.

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4.

SHLIME

This is a putty slime you can make from some common household ingredients . It has a different texture to the “OoBleck” and Slime of the previous experiments but still retains the characteristics of a non-Newtonian fluid.

Difficulty: Easy

MATERIALS REQUIRED • • • • • •

Pure cornflour (made from corn not wheat) Shampoo (ask parental permission ) 1 tablespoon capacity measuring spoon Small plastic cup (supplied) Dropper pipette (supplied) Cold water

METHOD: 1. Follow the instructions as illustrated on the following page. Your Shlime may feel slightly sticky at first but just keep rolling and kneading between your hands and it will soon come together.

2. It will be soft and mobile and although not stretch as readily as the Slime, it is much more pliable than the ‘Oobleck’.

3. You may find the Shlime dries out after a few hours and becomes firm and brittle. You can return it to a pliable state by adding a few drops of water with the dropper pipette and stirring then kneading again as before. Do not keep the Shlime for more than 3 days. Dispose of it in the rubbish bin.

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