Homeschool Science – Gluep – Solid or Liquid?

Solids, liquids, and gasses are all around us. But did you know that you can use some materials to make an entirely new type of material? A great homeschool science experiment that will help you to learn more about the difference in common materials, such as plastics, is the Gluep experiment. In this homeschool science project, you will have a fun time combining liquids to form a flexible solid plastic called gluep.

Are you ready to get started having fun on you next science experiment? If so, then here’s what you’ll need to do to get started making you gluep:

Gather Materials
You’ll need the following materials for this simple project:
    •    1 teaspoon of borax (you can find it in the laundry section of the store)
    •    1 tablespoon of glue (such as Elmer’s glue)
    •    Food coloring (this will make the color of your gluep, so choose a color you love)
    •    Two cups for mixing
    •    One spoon
    •    Water

Once you have your materials gathered together, set up your science lab on a table. Be sure to cover the table in newspapers to protect it. Now you’re ready to begin with the experiment, which involves actually making the soft plastic.

Follow these basic steps:
    •    Put 5 tablespoons of water into one cup along with 1 teaspoon of borax. Stir the mixture until it is dissolved. (You may have a few particles that do not dissolve and that is okay.)
    •    In the second cup, stir together 1 tablespoon of water, 1 tablespoon of white glue (you may find it hard to measure the glue properly because it’s so sticky – and that’s okay!), and a few drops of your food coloring.
    •    Add 2 teaspoons from the mixture in the first cup (the borax mixture) to the second cup. Stir.
    •    This is the coolest part of this homeschool science project: as you stir the new mixture, you will notice that it will stiffen and become lumpy. When this happens, take it out of the cup and knead it with your hands for about two minutes. Congratulations – you’ve made your own gluep!

Understanding the Process of Making Plastic
Now that you have made your very own gluep, it’s time to think about the process that you used and the results that you got from the project. To understand the process completely, it’s time to analyze your results (the gluep). Oh – and parents, if you teach science at home, a great resource is the free Homeschool Science Experiment Guide and workbook.

To analyze the results, play around with the gluep. Notice how it maintains shape or changes shape on different surfaces. Notice how the gluep responds to being dropped onto a tabletop. Notice how gravity impacts the gluep if you pull it apart or hold it between pinched fingers.

Here’s what you should know about the gluep that you’ve made in order to understand it better:
    •    Gluep (which is a type of plastic) is made up of a chain of large molecules. These large molecules are made of smaller units that are connected like a chain.
    •    Plastics can be very soft, like your gluep, or very hard, like a container. Original plastics were soft. However, polymers were added to make them hard.
    •    The glue you used to make the gluep is a polymer. This polymer helps the molecules stick together. When the glue interacts with air, it begins to harden, making the soft gluep harden over time.
    •    The borax that you used also form links between the glue molecules, which also help to make the glue even harder than it would be without the borax. This combination helps the gluep to stay in one shape for a small amount of time.

A great resource to get your homeschool science project questions answered is the science project blog.