Oobleck
Is it a liquid? Or is it a solid? Learn about the different phases of matter while learning about the wacky properties of oobleck.
Materials
2 cups cornstarch
1 cup warm water
Optional: Food Coloring
Procedure
Step 1
In a bowl, mix the cornstarch and water with your hands. Add a few drops of food coloring if you want your oobleck to be colored.
Step 2
Add small amounts of warm water or cornstarch to reach oobleck. If it is too crumbly, add small amounts of warm water. If it is too liquid, add small amounts of cornstarch.
Step 3
Play with your funky fluid! It should feel like a liquid, but like a solid when you poke or punch it quickly. That's the magic of oobleck!
Science Explanation
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade . . .
- Slowly push your hand into the oobleck. What does it feel like? (Answer: liquid/runny)
- Now quickly push or hit the oobleck with more strength. What does it feel like now? (Answer: solid/stiff)
- The different ways that the oobleck behaves are similar to the different kinds of matter.
- When slowly playing with the oobleck, it is a liquid.However, when quickly playing with the oobleck, it is a solid.
NGSS K-PS2-1
NGSS 2-PS1-1
3rd Grade - 5th Grade . . .
- ENERGY & SPEED - NGSS 4-PS3-1
- When we interact with the oobleck, we can either push into it slowly, or hit it by moving our hand faster.
- When an object is moving fast, it has more energy than an object moving slow.
- So, when we slowly push into the oobleck, our hands transfer less energy than if we were to quickly move our hands and hit the oobleck.
- MATTER - NGSS 5-PS1-4, NGSS 5-PS1-3
- As we know, there are three main phases of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.What are the phases of matter of our two ingredients (cornstarch and water)? (Answer: solid and liquid)
- What is the phase of matter of the oobleck we made from these ingredients? (Answer: trick question, it depends on how we interact with it)
- Each of these phases of matter have different properties. What are some examples of each phase of matter? (Possible answers: Ice, water, water vapor)
- One property of matter that can be used to easily identify a phase of matter is hardness. When we hit the oobleck, it feels hard, a characteristic of the solid phase of matter. However, when we slowly push into the oobleck, it flows around our hands and is not hard, a characteristic of the liquid phase of matter.
- Why can one material have the properties of two different phases of matter? Oobleck is a special exception to the phases of matter known as a non-Newtonian fluid. This type of fluid behaves differently depending on how it is interacted with, and it can exhibit properties of both liquids and solids.
Math Extensions
Kindergarten . . .
- How many ingredients are we using for the oobleck?
Count how many cups of cornstarch we add to the water.
Is the number of cups of cornstarch greater than or less than the number of cups of water?
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.5
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.1
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6
6th - 8th Grade . . .
- What is the ratio of baking soda to water that we used in our baking soda solution? (Answer: 1:2)
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.1
Written by Ethan Kirgan From our friends at STEAM Powered Family