Oobleck!
You know you love that ooey-gooey nacho cheese! It’s drippy like a liquid but some how holds onto the chips with ease.
Our experiment “Oobleck” will let us learn the science behind that golden gooey goodness.
As we work through our experiment today, we will be discussing all the steps of the scientific method.
OBSERVATION: Nacho cheese drips like a liquid but can stick like a solid.
QUESTION: So what do we want to know? Is Nacho cheese a solid or liquid? What causes this mixture of states to occur?
HYPOTHESIS: A hypothesis is like a guess, a pretend answer to your question. Your hypothesis should come from your own brain, based on things you already know, see, read, or hear. What’s your guess? Is it magic or is it science? What do you think is the reason for this gravity defying snack?
EXPERIMENT: Now it’s time for our experiment!
The materials you need are:
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups corn starch
- food coloring
- Bowl or container
- Spoon
Now that we have everything we need, let’s get started!
1) Add water and food coloring to your bowl
2) Stir in cornstarch little by little.
3) Once mixture gets too difficult to stir with a spoon, start mixing with your hands.
4) Once fully mixed, let the fun begin!
ANALYZE: Time to analyze! The water we used is in a liquid state and is what we would call a monomer – a tiny, simple molecule. Cornstarch is in a solid state and is a polymer – a large molecule made of many smaller, repeating parts linked together in a long chain. Cornstarch is too large of a molecule to be dissolved in water so it just floats around, not making any chemical bonds so the substance thickens.
Quick pressure forces the cornstarch pieces to lock together and trap water. Relaxing the pressure lets water flow freely again. This type of substance is called a non-Newtonian fluid.
Now go back to your hypothesis. Did your hypothesis match what you observed in the experiment?
CONCLUSION: Whether you were right or wrong in your hypothesis, it’s doesn’t matter. You still learned something, which means it’s time to come to our conclusion.
Why does delicious nacho cheese act like both a liquid and a solid? Among many ingredients, nacho cheese includes a liquid, like milk or water, and a thickener, like flour or cornstarch, causing the same amazing abilities that our oobleck showed off, making it a non-Newtonian fluid too!
Want to change it up?
Jab at the Oobleck with an object or your finger and then slowly watch it sink in. How is the Oobleck affected by different levels of pressure and stress?
Want to see more experiments? Subscribe to our YouTube channel, Junction Box Thinkers.
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