Francisco, Mariel Chloe P.

STEM 202

Guide Questions:

1. How does the oobleck behave?

2. Is the oobleck solid or liquid? Explain why?
3. If something fell into the oobleck, like a rock, will it sink immediately?

Answer:

1. The oobleck behaves like a solid when you apply a sudden force on it, and when you apply
a steady and slow force, it behaves like a liquid. For example, in the experiment when I
suddenly grabbed and squeeze a few oobleck, it felt like I'm holding a portion of food or
any solid material, you can also mold it in circle-shaped. But when I stopped my hands in
molding and squeeze the oobleck, it slowly became a liquid. It was gradually removed from
my hands, but when I pressed the oobleck again, it became solid again.

2. The answer is both because oobleck both have liquid and solid particles. It is also known
as non-Newtonian fluids. Based on the website STEM Mayhem, they describe
nonNewtonian fluid as "fluids that don't follow Newton's law of viscosity. In non-
Newtonian fluids, the viscosity changes when under force/stress to either more liquid or
more solid.” (“What is Non-Newtonian Fluid?", 2019, para. 3). Oobleck is also made of
starch and water and the starch has a component that is suspended in water which is the
result of having an unusual behavior in the oobleck. And those definition makes sense
because you can feel the oobleck turns into liquid or solid when doing a fast action or steady
force on the oobleck. For example, you can walk or run on a container that has a large
amount of oobleck without sinking on it. Because the forces you applied by your weight
cause the oobleck under your feet to become solid and when you remove the force, the
oobleck will return to its original state which is liquid.
3. The rock will sink immediately on the initial impact of the fall to the bowl of oobleck. And
if you'll find the rock, it’s kind of tough to pull it outside of the oobleck.