How are New Materials Invented?
Summary
Overview
New materials often involve chemical reactions, and slime is no exception. In this lesson, students will use the engineering design process to design a slime product. They will need to decide on the desired properties for their slime and then experiment to find the best recipe.
Learning Objectives
- Define criteria and constraints for creating a new slime as part of the engineering process.
- Look for a change in properties to see whether a chemical reaction occurs and a new substance is formed.
- Know that chemical reactions create new materials.
Materials
For the class:
- An assortment of additives that will allow students to change the properties of their slime, like:
- Food coloring (colored slime)
- Glitter (sparkly slime)
- Iron filings (magnetic slime)
- Glow-in-the-dark paint (glow-in-the-dark slime)
- Thermochromic pigment (color-changing slime)
- Tonic water (glow-in-black-light slime)
- Foam shaving cream (fluffy slime)
- Fragrance oils or extracts (to make scented slime)
- Baking spices (to make scented slime)
- Table or area to display the student's slime creations.
Per group:
- Washable PVA school glue (like Elmer's®) (1 cup or 8 fl oz)
- Water
- Baking soda (1 tsp)
- Contact lens solution (must contain both boric acid and sodium borate in ingredients) (4 tbsp or 2 fl oz)
- Measuring spoons (tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon)
- Measuring cup (1/4 cup)
- Resealable plastic bags, sandwich size
Per student:
Prep Work
Preparations: Place all the materials students will use to make their slime on a table that is easily accessible for students.
If the Explore section cannot be completed in one lesson, take a break after the background research is completed (13:40 in the Whole Lesson video, or 8:18 in the Explore video). Make sure the students describe the properties of the basic slime they created before taking a break as the slime might change and become more rubbery overnight.