"A ship in port is safe, but this is not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things." -Grace Hopper
Materials:
Borax
Cornstarch
White glue, blue glue, or clear glue(depends on what type of ball you would like)
Warm Water
Food coloring(optional)
Measuring spoons
Spoons or sticks(for mixing)
Marking pen
Ruler
Zip-top plastic bags
Instructions:
Take two cups and label one "Borax Solution" and the other "Ball Mixture."
Add 2 tablespoons of water and 1/2 teaspoon of borax powder into the cup labeled "Borax Solution". Stir the mixture and add food coloring if desired.
Add 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled "Ball Mixture". Add 1/2 teaspoon of borax solution and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Do not stir!
Wait for 10-15 seconds to let the ingredients will interact on their own. Then stir until you cannot mix the mixture anymore.
Take the mixture out of the cup and start molding it into a ball with your hand. It will be messy at first but will become less sticky.
The ball can be played it when it becomes less sticky.
Make sure to clean your hands, work area, and utensils after the bouncy ball is made. Have fun playing with it!
Science Behind It:
Glue and borax water combined caused polymers, long chains of molecules, to stick together. If these long molecules slide past each other they act like a liquid but if they actually stick together, then the substance will be an elastomer( such as a bouncy ball). Cornstarch was used to help bind these molecules together so that it would be intact.
You can even use the scientific method to make hypothesis's before you add different ingredients. Observations can be made throughout the process and you can experiment with the ratio of ingredients. See what happens if you add more cornstarch or use less borax.
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