Super Science Program for Kids

Flubber

Materials: ( per student)

40 mL Polyvinyl Alcohol
8 mL Sodium Tetra Borate
Food Color
Craft Stick

1A. Shake all chemical bottle vigorously before pouring.

1. Measure and pour 40 mL polyvinyl alcohol. Focus on on the following: notice the location of any bubbles that have formed. Gently rub a small amount between your thumb and index finger. It will feel cool and wet, but soon will sticky with dirty lumps in it. This can be called " the Booger Stage" and means that the Polyvinyl has pulled off dirt and dead skin from your fingers.

2. Add between one and four drops of food color. No more as it will stain hands. Let kids choose color or make their own with 2 drops of 2 different colors. Stir it in with a craft stick.

3. Measure about 8 mL of sodium tetra borate solution into the other graduated cylinder. Pour it into the cup with the polyvinyl alcohol and food color. Stir it with a pop stick and it will form a slimy consistency. (If it is too watery add a little bit more of the sodium borate solution.) If you add too much, the Flubber will turn crumbly and fall apart.

4. Examine the properties of the cross-linked polymer by playing with it in your hands.

5. Put the Flubber into a plastic bag for take home. This Flubber isn't exactly like the kind used in the movies because it was not made by a computer as was the case of the movie.

Background Information to discuss with kids if they are age-appropriate.

Flubber is a polymer that is 98% water. The water is a bridge that cross-links the polyvinyl and sodium tetraborate through hydrogen bonding. Imagine the polyvinyl alcohol molecules to be tiny steel chains in a cup. Each link of the chain is a single vinyl alcohol unit or monomer. When aqll the links are hooked together you have a polymer. Polyvinyl alcohol is endothermic-it draws in heat from its surroundings. Put your Flubber in the fridge For a longer life. It lasts a few days.

Polyvinyl alcohol is used by the plastics industry to form surface coatings and make surface films resistant to gasoline. It is also used to make artificial sponges, hoses, and printing inks. If you look inside your contact lens wetting solutions, you'll find it lubricating the lenses. Polyvinyl alcohol is also the main ingredient in white glue. Sodium tetraborate is used in the wood industry to protect against fungus and to make new wood look old. "Borate" is also found in "Borax" a Laundry soap. Caution: Sodium Tetraborate is toxic by ingestion.

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