Polymer Study

Last week, we further explored atoms and molecules.  It is fun (near impossible, if you happen to be me) to truly think on a molecular level.  Fortunately, second graders like this lofty challenge.

How many molecules are in a single drop of water?  More than a billion.  It's incredible, mind-bending stuff.

I find hands on science to be so awesome and miraculous because it is tangible.  And when you can actually witness, even FEEL, a chemical change, it's amazing.  It's visceral.  It's messy yet it makes natural sense.

It is equally awesome to watch young scientists achieve Eureka! moments.

So, polymers.  Polymers are much fun:  they are chemical compounds that are made of many, many molecules.  These molecules are strung together like long chains.

Polymers can feel different.  Some are rubbery, some are gooey, some are hard and tough.


(You can probably foreshadow that we stuck with the slimy/gooey variety here in 2nd grade.  Most mess = most fun, right?)

Teddy and James work to mix our water/glue combination together.

We take notes in our science field journals.

  


We started with tap water and Elmer's glue.  The molecules in the water and the glue mingled, a little, but they were very reluctant.  Nothing changed within the glue when it hit the water.  Nothing much changed in the water when it swirled in the glue.  Just a soupy mess.

Grace mixes in food coloring and some Borax...

And we made a polymer!

Then we added a magical ingredient.  I want to pretend to be a wizard, but I'll reveal our secret here:  it was simple Borax powder.  Borax is incredible stuff.  Just a small bit of it mixed with water and glue changed up the molecules in the Elmer's completely.  They started to bind together differently.  They gathered and bunched together until they formed a sticky, yet flexible, lump.


Homemade silly putty.  And we actually achieved it on a molecular level.

Kevin creates his polymer.

Andrew and Julia try it out, too!

We document the "recipe" and explain how it looks and feels.

Here's where the tangible, visceral, Eureka! moment comes in:  Each student was allowed to swirl their fingers in the water/glue.  When their fingers were coated with the mixture, they then dipped their fingers into the dry Borax powder.  When they returned their fingers to the water/glue, they could actually feel the molecules changing in their hands.


It's incredible.  Trust us.  We couldn't stop experimenting.

Grace, Julia, Sophia, and Gabriel work hard to analyze.

The rest of our science lesson was spent analyzing, stretching, bouncing, rolling, and measuring.



..... And by bouncing, I mean doing huge jumps in order to bounce the Silly Putty onto the ground with lots of force!

Nice air time, Andrew!!

The life of a scientist is rough.