Ooze!
Skills
This icky-sticky creation gets kids hooked on chemistry.
You'll Need
- Measuring cup
- Cornstarch
- Yellow food coloring
- Blue food coloring
- Large bowl
- Spoon
Time
30 minutesLearning Stages
When salt or sugar mixes with water, it dissolves in the water to form solutions. Substances that do not dissolve in water form a mixture called a suspension. Follow the instructions below to create a suspension and investigate its properties:
- Pour one cup of cornstarch into the bowl.
- Measure out 2/3 cup of tap water. Turn the water green by adding three drops of yellow food coloring and three drops of blue food coloring.
- Slowly pour the green water in the bowl. (You might not need all the water.) Mix well with the spoon and your hands.
- Take a handful of the green substance and roll it into a ball.
- Stop rolling and let the ball rest on your palm.
Cornstarch and water, like quicksand or ketchup, is a type of mixture called a suspension—it never really mixes together. Rolling the mixture in your hands, it compresses together and feels dry. Once you stop rolling, the cornstarch starts pulling away, leaving ooze in your hands.