Reflection:
We are making bouncy balls out of corn starch, elmer's glue, borax, water and food coloring. We were trying to see how bouncy we could make the ball. So what's happening is a chemical reaction between mainly borax and the glue. The borax acts as a “cross-linker” to the polymer molecules in the glue, creating a chain of molecules that stay together when you pick them up. The cornstarch also helps bind everything together to hold the shape.
Looking Back:
The first time I made my bouncy ball it was not a success, but the second time it was very successful. I think the reason why it didn't work the first time was because I tried making the ball within 10 minutes and I tried to rush everything. If I haven't learned anything, it's that experiments take time if I want the desired results. The second time I took my time and I actually was very patient with forming the ball and waited for it to dry and be put to use.
Looking Beyond:
When we mixed the warm water, borax and cornstarch; I noticed that it looked kind of liquidy. Then in a separate cup we mixed the glue and food coloring together, and I noticed the glue changing to a really light color because when we add the liquid coloring it's dark, but when mixed it gets lighter. When we put the two together, we ended up getting a really slimy glob that looked very deformed. At first I thought that we did the experiment wrong but then I looked back at the instructions and realized that we had the correct results.
Looking Inward:
We got the desired results we were looking for. We got the desired results because my partners and I work well with each other. We paid really close attention to the instructions we looked up and followed the instructions well.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Ivy, Carmina and Daisy for this lab. I think we all work very well together because we're all very close friends inside and outside of school. I don't think there was ever a time we've ever argued with one another. We all know each others strengths and weaknesses so we know how to support each other. I believe that we did a very good job by working together and helping each other get a full on understanding of what reaction is happening with whatever is being mixed together.
Looking Forward:
The results we got was the perfect results if you ask me. I don't think there's really anything I would change about this lab, except I really need to be patient with my experiments if I want the best results. I love working with my friends but at the same time I'd want to get closer to my classmates and get to know them better.
Takeaway:
The thing I took away from this was that I realize this could have easily been a one person lab because it wasn't that hard. This was a simple lab with not many steps either. I need to take into consideration that nothing will work if it's rushed.
We are making bouncy balls out of corn starch, elmer's glue, borax, water and food coloring. We were trying to see how bouncy we could make the ball. So what's happening is a chemical reaction between mainly borax and the glue. The borax acts as a “cross-linker” to the polymer molecules in the glue, creating a chain of molecules that stay together when you pick them up. The cornstarch also helps bind everything together to hold the shape.
Looking Back:
The first time I made my bouncy ball it was not a success, but the second time it was very successful. I think the reason why it didn't work the first time was because I tried making the ball within 10 minutes and I tried to rush everything. If I haven't learned anything, it's that experiments take time if I want the desired results. The second time I took my time and I actually was very patient with forming the ball and waited for it to dry and be put to use.
Looking Beyond:
When we mixed the warm water, borax and cornstarch; I noticed that it looked kind of liquidy. Then in a separate cup we mixed the glue and food coloring together, and I noticed the glue changing to a really light color because when we add the liquid coloring it's dark, but when mixed it gets lighter. When we put the two together, we ended up getting a really slimy glob that looked very deformed. At first I thought that we did the experiment wrong but then I looked back at the instructions and realized that we had the correct results.
Looking Inward:
We got the desired results we were looking for. We got the desired results because my partners and I work well with each other. We paid really close attention to the instructions we looked up and followed the instructions well.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Ivy, Carmina and Daisy for this lab. I think we all work very well together because we're all very close friends inside and outside of school. I don't think there was ever a time we've ever argued with one another. We all know each others strengths and weaknesses so we know how to support each other. I believe that we did a very good job by working together and helping each other get a full on understanding of what reaction is happening with whatever is being mixed together.
Looking Forward:
The results we got was the perfect results if you ask me. I don't think there's really anything I would change about this lab, except I really need to be patient with my experiments if I want the best results. I love working with my friends but at the same time I'd want to get closer to my classmates and get to know them better.
Takeaway:
The thing I took away from this was that I realize this could have easily been a one person lab because it wasn't that hard. This was a simple lab with not many steps either. I need to take into consideration that nothing will work if it's rushed.
Group: Ivy Tran, Carmina Nicolas, Daisy Martinez, and Erika Leano
Essential Question: What makes bouncy balls bouncy?
Sources:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/bounceball.htm
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/make-a-colorful-bouncy-ball
http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/super-bouncy-balls/
Science Behind Bouncy Balls:
There is a chemical reaction going on between mainly borax and the glue. The borax acts as a “cross-linker” to the polymer molecules in the glue, creating a chain of molecules that stay together when you pick them up. The cornstarch also helps bind everything together to hold the shape.
Materials:
Clean up:
Everything should be washable after the experiment.
Essential Question: What makes bouncy balls bouncy?
Sources:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/bounceball.htm
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/make-a-colorful-bouncy-ball
http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/super-bouncy-balls/
Science Behind Bouncy Balls:
There is a chemical reaction going on between mainly borax and the glue. The borax acts as a “cross-linker” to the polymer molecules in the glue, creating a chain of molecules that stay together when you pick them up. The cornstarch also helps bind everything together to hold the shape.
Materials:
- cup or bowl
- stirrer
- 1 T. white glue
- 1/2 tsp. borax powder
- food coloring
- 3 T. cornstarch or 1 T
- 4 T. warm water or 2 T
- In one cup, combine the warm water, cornstarch and borax. In another cup or bowl, put the glue.
- Next, add several drops of food coloring to the white glue and stir well.
- Give your water/borax/cornstarch mixture a good stir to combine all the ingredients (the cornstarch has a tendency to settle on the bottom). Then pour the water mixture into the colored glue.
- Stir and you'll see it immediately start to clump together. Stir a bit more until you have one big, slimy glob.
- Take the glob out of the liquid and begin rolling it between the palms of your hands to form a ball. It'll be sticky at first, so keep a paper towel handy to wipe off your hands occasionally. Soon a rubbery ball will form. (We found that just using our palms seemed to work better than using our whole hands and fingers.)
- Once the stickiness is gone and you have a nice smooth ball, that's it! You can bounce away!
- Borax and glue are a potential health hazard and should not be ingested or sniffed
Clean up:
Everything should be washable after the experiment.