Flubber
You will need…
Dixie cups
Popsicle stick
Small bowl
White glue (Elmer’s works
best)
Saturated Borax solution
(saturated = enough Borax
so that no more will
dissolve)
Water
All matter is made of small particles called molecules. These molecules can be
close together or far apart. When they are close together they move more slowly
than when they are far apart. The distance between them also determines what
phase they are - solid, liquid or gas.
Some types of molecules can occur in nature in more than one phase. For instance,
water can be a solid (ice), a liquid (water) or a gas (water vapour). Temperature
determines which phase matter will be. However, molecules can change phases
when they are mixed with other molecules. They undergo a reaction to form new
molecules, called product molecules. Sometimes, these product molecules appear
to be both liquid and solid; this form is called a liquid crystal. In this activity,
students will make Flubber, which has properties of a liquid and a solid!
Safety Considerations
None
Procedure
1. In groups of three or four, make sure your group has three cups, one
spoon, and a bowl to mix things in.
2. Your teacher will pour 20 mL of water in one cup, 40 mL of glue in a
second cup, and 5 mL of saturated Borax solution in the third cup.
3. Pour the water and the glue together and stir (with a popsicle stick)
until it is totally mixed. Your teacher will come to you with food
colouring to make your flubber a cool colour!
4. Once your glue, water and food colouring are totally mixed, add the
Borax solution and stir like crazy! Make sure there is no liquid left in
the bowl. You now have flubber!
5. Divide the flubber into equal pieces for each group member to share.
6. Play with your flubber! Is it a solid or a liquid?
7. Wrap your flubber plastic wrap so you can take it home and play with it
again! If it dries out at home, just mix some water into it and it will be
as good as new.
EYES Workshops 2007
Picture taken from University of Florida, http://server.chem.ufl.edu/~itl/2045_s99/lectures/lec_f.html