‭Slime Chemistry and Mixture Problems Using Linear Equations‬

‭Abstract:‬‭Have you ever wondered how fun toys like‬‭Silly Putty®, Gak™, and Slime™ are‬
‭ ade? These products are so much fun because of the properties of polymers, which make them‬
m
‭delightfully bouncy, stretchy, sticky, moldable, breakable, hard, soft, and just plain fun! In this‬
‭science project you can be the developer of your own slime product by changing the amount of a‬
‭key ingredient. By observing the physical properties of your results, you can choose the best‬
‭recipe for your new product.‬

‭Introduction:‬‭What is slime actually made of? If you‬‭have made slime before, you probably‬
f‭ ollowed a recipe to put different ingredients together, similar to baking a cake. The ingredients‬
‭used for slime usually include Elmer's® glue and borax. Elmer's glue is made up of a‬‭polymer‬‭.‬
‭Polymers are long chain-shaped molecules.‬

‭ he polymer chains in the Elmer's glue are long and very straight. The polymer chains can slide‬
T
‭across each other easily, making the glue runny and "liquidy" (think of dumping a bunch of‬
‭fresh-cooked spaghetti out of a pot). This changes, however, when you mix the glue with borax.‬
‭The borax helps make connections between each of the polymer chains, as shown in Figure 1.‬
‭This process is called‬‭crosslinking‬‭. This makes it‬‭harder for the polymer chains to slide around,‬
‭making the glue thicker and turning it into "slime."‬

‭ igure 1.‬‭Straight polymer chains (left) are linked‬‭together by borax to form a cross-linked‬
F
‭polymer (right).‬

I‭ n this project, you will use contact lens solution to make slime. It contains other ingredients‬
‭(boric acid and sodium borate) that react with baking soda (another ingredient in your slime) to‬
‭make borax. You might wonder if it matters how much borax you add to the glue. Changing the‬
‭recipe can change the‬‭properties‬‭of the slime! In‬‭this science project, you will make slime with‬
‭different amounts of contact lens solution. You will then test the slime and observe how its‬
‭properties change as the recipe changes. Once you have tested all your slime recipes, you can‬
‭decide for yourself which one results in slime that will be the most fun to play with. If you were‬
‭going to sell slime as a toy, which recipe would you use?‬
‭Materials and Equipment:‬
‭‬
● ‭ ashable PVA school glue‬
W
‭●‬ ‭Water‬
‭●‬ ‭Baking soda‬
‭●‬ ‭Contact lens solution (must contain both boric acid and sodium borate in ingredients)‬
‭●‬ ‭Food coloring (optional)‬
‭●‬ ‭Measuring spoons‬
‭●‬ ‭Measuring cups‬
‭●‬ ‭Mixing cup‬
‭●‬ ‭Stirrer‬
‭●‬ ‭Ruler‬
‭●‬ ‭Stopwatch‬
‭●‬ ‭Work surface that can get messy‬
‭●‬ ‭Resealable plastic bags or food storage containers‬
‭●‬ ‭Marker and Lab Worksheet‬
‭●‬ ‭Glow-in-the-Dark Paint or Thermochromic Pigment (optional, and use only after finding‬
‭the best recipe for making your slime)‬

‭Experimental Procedure:‬
‭1)‬ I‭ n the mixing cup, thoroughly mix 1/2 C (cup) water, 1/2 C glue, and a few drops of food‬
‭coloring (optional).‬
‭2)‬ ‭Add 1/2 tsp baking soda and mix completely.‬
‭3)‬ ‭Add 1 tbsp (1 tablespoon) contact lens solution and stir vigorously until the mixture starts‬
‭pulling away from the edges of the cup.‬
‭4)‬ ‭Use your hands to knead the slime (fold it, squeeze it, and roll it) for 5–10 minutes until‬
‭its texture stops changing.‬
‭5)‬ ‭Put the slime in a resealable plastic bag. Use a marker to label the bag "1 tbsp contact‬
‭lens solution."‬
‭6)‬ ‭Clean any residual slime off your mixing cup and measure spoons/cups. You should be‬
‭able to peel the slime off in pieces.‬
‭7)‬ ‭Repeat steps 1–6 two more times, first using 2 tbsp and then 3 tbsp of contact lens‬
‭solution. When you are done, you should have three batches of slime like the ones shown‬
‭below.‬
 ‭Testing Your Slime:‬
‭1)‬ ‭Prepare a data table like the one below.‬
‭Circle diameter/perimeter/area after 1 min (in)‬
‭Amount of‬ ‭Slime Description‬ ‭Trial 1‬ ‭Trial 2‬ ‭Trial 3‬ ‭Average‬
‭Contact lens‬
‭solution‬

‭1 tbsp‬

‭2 tbsp‬

‭3 tbsp‬

‭2)‬ T ‭ ake your first batch of slime (with 1 tbsp contact lens solution) and play with it with‬
‭your hands. What does it feel like? Is it stretchy? Squishy? Sticky? Rubbery? Write down‬
‭your description of the slime in your data table. This is a‬‭qualitative‬‭observation‬‭(it uses‬
‭things you can describe with your senses, not numbers).‬
‭3)‬ ‭Measure your first batch of slime.‬
‭4)‬ ‭Roll the 1 tbsp of slime into a ball.‬
‭5)‬ ‭Place the ball of slime onto a flat,‬
‭smooth surface, and immediately‬
‭start your stopwatch.‬
‭6)‬ ‭After exactly one minute, measure‬
‭the diameter (width) of the ball of‬
‭slime in inches (in) using a ruler.‬
‭Write this number down under Trial‬
‭1 in your data table, then calculate its‬
‭perimeter and area as a circle. This is‬
‭a‬‭quantitative‬‭observation‬‭(it uses a‬
‭number that you measure).‬
‭7)‬ R ‭ epeat steps 4–6 two more times for this batch of slime, for a total of three trials. Record‬
‭your measurements and calculations in the data table under Trial 2 and Trial 3,‬
‭respectively.‬
‭8)‬ ‭Repeat steps 2–7 for your other two batches of slime.‬
‭9)‬ ‭Calculate the average circle diameter, perimeter, and area for each batch of slime. Do this‬
‭by adding up the diameters for each trial and then dividing by three. Record the average‬
‭diameter for each batch of slime in the data table.‬
‭10)‬‭Make 3 graphs with the amount of contact solution on the horizontal axis and the average‬
‭circle diameter (graph 1), perimeter (graph 2), and area (graph 3) on the vertical axis.‬
‭Analyze Your Slime:‬
‭11)‬‭Based on your results, which slime was the runniest (spread out to make the biggest‬
‭circle)? Which slime was the thickest (spread out to make the smallest circle)? How do‬
‭these quantitative measurements relate to your qualitative observations?‬

‭______________________________________________________________________________‬

‭______________________________________________________________________________‬

‭______________________________________________________________________________‬

‭12)‬‭Based on all your observations and measurements, which slime do you think is the‬
‭"best"? If you were going to sell your slime as a toy, which recipe would you use? Why?‬

‭______________________________________________________________________________‬

‭______________________________________________________________________________‬

‭______________________________________________________________________________‬

‭13)‬‭Store your slime in airtight containers if you want to play with it later. Dispose of any‬
‭excess slime by putting it in the trash. Do not pour your slime down the drain or it will‬
‭cause a clog.‬

‭Mixture Problem Using Linear Equations‬

I‭ n a chemistry lab, a student has two slime solutions that contain borax and is mixing them. One‬
‭solution contains 15% borax, and the other is 5% borax. How many ml of each solution should‬
‭be mixed to the 100 ml slime solution which contains 8% borax solution.‬

‭+‬ ‭=‬