? Science with Sarah: Oobleck Slime ??

? Watch the video of Sarah’s school science experiment here!

Hello parents, teachers and students! If you’re looking for fun way to explore states of matter and solubility this experiment is for you!

Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it.

Science with Sarah: Invite KSAT to your school for live science experiments. (KSAT)

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

For the solubility experiment:

4 clear cups
Salt, sand, baking soda, and corn starch
A spoon

For the oobleck:

A large container
1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup water
Food dye (optional)

DO THE SOLUBILITY EXPERIMENT

STEP 1: Fill the 4 clear cups with water
STEP 2: Add to each cup a spoonful of either salt, sand, baking soda, or cornstarch
STEP 3: Stir each mixture and observe which materials dissolve in the water
NOTE: The salt and baking soda should dissolve completely in the water. The sand will not dissolve at all. The corn starch will somewhat dissolve in the water.

MAKE THE OOBLECK

Meteorologist Sarah Spivey makes oobleck (Copyright KSAT 2023 – All rights reserved)

STEP 1: Measure out 1/2 cup of water and add the food dye to the water
STEP 2: In the large container, place 1 cup of cornstarch
STEP 3: Pour the colored water into the large container with the cornstarch and mix using your hands (NOTE: This will be messy! Make sure to have plenty of paper towels nearby and maybe use an apron to cover your clothes!)
STEP 4: Try compressing the oobleck in your hands into a ball. Observe how it quickly “melts” into a liquid.

Ball the oobleck in your hands and feel it become a solid (Copyright KSAT 2023 – All rights reserved)Watch as the oobleck quickly turns back into a liquid (Copyright KSAT 2023 – All rights reserved)

STEP 5: You can store your oobleck in the fridge to use for later. When you’re ready to dispose of your oobleck, throw it away in the trash. Large amounts of cornstarch should not go down pipes.

HOW IT WORKS

Because cornstarch is not totally soluble in water, it can make a non-Newtonian fluid when combined with water.

A non-Newtonian fluid does not follow Newton’s laws of viscosity. That may be a mouthful, but basically oobleck it is a fluid that can exist both as a solid and a liquid depending on how much force you use!

SCIENCE WITH SARAH

If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, email sciencewithsarah@ksat.com.

Parents and guardians: upload a video of your child performing the activity by clicking here. Send it in and you might see it on GMSA @ 9 a.m.!