You Will Need:
- 500mL PVA Glue in a cup
- Borax: found in the homecare aisle of the supermarket
- Food colouring
- Mixing bowl and spoon.
- A cup of water
Dissolve the borax into the water. Keep adding borax until it won’t dissolve anymore in the water.
This means that the solution is saturated.
Gently add 100mL of the saturated borax solution to the PVA glue and stir.
Gooey slime!
Keep adding borax solution to the PVA glue until a thick slime has been produced.
Get the Unit of Work on States of Matter here!
- What are the different states of matter?
- How does heat affect the size of materials?
- How does liquid nitrogen affect materials and much more!
Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more
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Why Does This Happen?
Polymerization is a very important chemical process that is used to produce all sorts of plastic products for everyday use… e.g.: nylon, paint, synthetic rubber and even chewing gum! The process really involves the joining of small molecules to form long chains that keep repeating.
PVA glue contains polyvinyl alcohol (also known as PVA), a chemical which is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. When borax is dissolved in water, borate ions are released. Putting the two together, borate ions are able to cross-link the long PVA chains by forming weak ionic bonds between them. These bonds are not strong enough to form a complete solid, but just enough to thicken the mixture. This is called a hydrogel, and it is like a matrix, trapping water within its network. The more water you add to it the more it absorbs, even past its maximum capacity. At which point the weak ionic bonds can’t hold on anymore, the network breaks down and all you’re left with is a soupy mess.
Variables to test
- What happens if you use pure PVA solution vs PVA glue? Your science teacher can get PVA solution for you to try out.
- Add a different type of glue instead of PVA glue.
- Try adding cornflour… what happens?
From colour changes to slimy science, we’ve got your kitchen chemistry covered!
Get in touch with FizzicsEd to find out how we can work with your class.
Slime, Sherbet & Bubbles
Years K to 2
Maximum 30 students
School Workshop
60 minutes
Online Class Available
STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary
Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials.
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