Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I have a granddaughter that has become a bit of a slime queen (Elmers glue, Borax type).
Recently, we saw a Jimmy Kimmel video where gumballs dissolved the slime.

She would like to present the science behind the making and dissolving of slime at a science fair.

Can someone explain to me how the sugar was able to melt the bonds in the slime, so I can explain it to her?

I would appreciate any insight into the chemical reaction..
Thank you so much, I've searched the web and had no luck.

Dorian C

Dear Ms. Dorian,

A glue and water solution is made up of polymers, and they slide past each other as a liquid. However, when borax is added, borate ions forms and the polymers becomes attracted to them. As a result, the solution becomes more solid and the stretchy and slimy slime is formed. I think that the sugar causes the slime to melt because sugar is very soluble in water, meaning that the gum balls can disrupt the existing bonds between the polymers and borate ions.

These are the websites that I used:
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/educ ... slime.html
http://www.sugar.ca/Nutrition-Informati ... Sugar.aspx

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please let me know.

RicaC

Thank you for the reply..
I had to wing it and explained that the sugar interfered with the bonds allowing them to break, turning the slime back to liquid.

It was logical, so I ran with it...lol

Thanks again,
Dorian

Dear Ms. Dorian,

Happy to help!

RicaC