Science Discipline(s)
Physical science/ Chemistry
Topics
Scientific Theory- Making hypotheses and conclusions
Molecules, Polymers
Chemical reactions
Viscosity
Activity Title
Pk-grade 3 – Flubber
Grade 4 and up – Non-Newtonian fluids-Flubber
Materials
½ Cup – White glue, clear glue or glitter glue
½ Cup – Liquid Starch
½ Cup – Water
2 Bowls
Optional:
Food coloring
Glitter
Procedure
- Add glue and water into one bowl and stir until it is well combined
- Optional: Add food coloring (about 6 drops) and glitter
- Add liquid starch into a new bowl
- Slowly add the glue/water mixture to the starch
- Once the glue mixture is all in the starch, begin to mix with hands for a few minutes
- Flubber is ready to be played with
See the Science Bob write-up of this activity and an American Chemical Society write-up of non-Newtonian fluids like flubber.
Inquiry Questions
Flubber is made from liquid starch, glue, and water. Suppose you had the task of figuring out the relative amounts of each of these substances that was needed to make Flubber. Design an experiment to test how you could test the effect of different amounts of these three components. Conduct your experiment and determine whether the flubber that you made under the various conditions exhibits properties of a liquid, a solid, or both.
What do you think would happen if you added too much water to Flubber? Test your hypothesis by conducting an experiment.
Questions
- Pk-Grade 3
Students can describe Flubber using their sense of touch, sight and smell.
Determine what type of physical state the final product, Flubber, is in and what the physical state of the ingredients before being mixed together.
Understand that smaller molecules are changing the state of the ingredients and making a new substance all together.
- Grade 4 and up
How does flubber act when shear stress is applied?
How does changing the amount of each ingredient or when it is added change how the flubber turns out?
How is the starch changing the glue and a molecular level?
Explanation
Some examples of shear stress are squeezing, stirring or applying mechanical pressure to the surface of a liquid. Applying a shear stress on a non-Newtonian liquid will affect the viscosity of the substance.
The starch acts as a cross-linker. The starch links the long polymer chains together making the glue more viscous.