Polymers

 

 

 

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Topic: In this experiment I will be testing how the amount of borax affects the stretchiness of a polymer. 

Purpose: To figure out what happens to a polymer  when more borax is added to it. Does the polymer with the most borax not stretch as much? Or does the polymer with less borax stretch more? 

Testable Question: How does the amount of borax affect the stretchiness of polymers?  

Background Research:   For my science fair project, I am answering and testing the question: how does the amount of borax affect the stretchiness of polymers? I researched my main/key words for the project. The key words are: polymer, borax, and sodium borate.

In this experiment I will be testing what would happen to the polymer when I add more borax to it. A polymer is a compound made up of large molecules often in a solid state. Polymers are chemically formed by 100 to 10,000 small molecules called "monomers". Monomers occur in molecular units or patterns that look like beads on a string. Polymers are also formed by large atoms. They form into long and flexible chains. Polymers are found in plastics, fiberglass, and many more product manufacteurs. Polymers are Amorphous solids- meaning they have no definite shape and they can from into different shapesand not take place of a shape. 

Borax is another ingredient to make a polymer. Borax is a product that help get stains out, borax is in cosmetics, it helps wash diapers, borax also helps cleans around the house, and glass industries, such as fiberglass use borax. Borax contains: Boron, sodium borate, and the salt of boric acid. In my experiment I will be using borax and Elmer's glue to form a long chain polymer. When liquid borax or glue flows through a polymer chain, it causes the polymer to change reactions. Adding borax and borate ion to the glue mixture, the water molecules that go through the polymer chain, these long chains of polymers (glue) links together, forming a goopy slime. The matrix between the bond is not very strong- meaning the polymer is stretchable and bendable. 

 

 Hypothesis: I think adding more borax into the polymer, it will reduce its stretchiness because the boron and boric acid in borax will stiffen the polymer because boron crystals in boron will change the reaction of the polymer. 

 

  Variables:

 

 Independent Variable: amount of borax

 

 Dependent Variable: length (cm)

 

 Controlled Variables: water, glue  

 

 

 

Materials:

 

 1) Borax

 

2) Water

 

3) Elmer's glue

 

4) Bowl

 

5) Stirrer

 

6) 3 Containers labeled A, B, and C

 

7) Food coloring (optional) 

 

 

 

 

Procedure:

 

Materials:

 

2 Bowls

 

Borax

 

 

Elmer's Glue

 

 

Stirrer

 

 

Water

 

 

3 containers with labels on them

 

 

Food coloring (optional)

 

 

Procedure:

 

 

 

 

 

1) Label three containers A, B, and C

 

 

2) In a bowl, mix together: 1/4 cup of Elmer's glue and 1/4 cup of water; stir well. In a seperate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of water to 1 1/2 teaspoons of borax; stir well until all borax is dissolved.

 

 

3) Slowly pour the bowl with glue and water to the borax and water mixture while stirring. Add couple drops of food coloring if desired.

 

 

4) As soon as the polymer starts to stiffen, take it out and knead it until it's nice and firm. Roll the polymer out until the width is about 3/4 an inch, measure it in centimeters.

 

 

5) Put the polymer into container labeled "A" and write on the label how much teaspoons of borax was added to the polymer (1 1/2 teaspoons).

 

 

6) Repeat steps 2-4 except, put 3 teaspoons of borax to the water mixture and notice what happens.

 

 

7) Use container labeled "B" to put the polymer into it and write down 3 teaspoons of borax on the label.

 

 

8) Do steps 2-4 but instead, add 5 1/2 teaspoons of borax to the water mixture. Observe what is happening.

 

 

9) Put the polymer into container labeled "C" with 5 1/2 teaspons of borax on the label also.

 

 10) Observe and collect data, by looking at what happens when more borax is added to the polymer. Create a table that looks like this to help collect data:

 

 

 

 

Sample Letter	Amount of Borax (teaspoons)	Length(cm)
A	1 1/2	60
B	3	6
C	5 1/2	4 1/2

 

   

 

Data: 

 

 

Observations: In the first test (sample letter "A"), I noticed when I poured the water and borax mixture into the glue mixture, the mixture turned thick and the polymer sticked onto the stirrer. There was not alot of polymer, but the was a lot of water and liquids that have not formed yet. I noticed when 3 teaspoons of borax was added to the mixture, the polymer was really hard and there was so much liquid left in the bowl, after I took it out. The length was only 6 centimeters. In the last test, I noticed, the polymer got really stiff and hard. It left more liquid in the bowl than the second test. The length was only 4 centimeters.  In the last 2 tests, a polymer didn't really form, meaning there was a small amount of polymer made.

 

    Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions: In this experiment, I noticed the polymer with more borax did not stretch as far compared to the polymer with the least amount of borax. My data table showed that the polymer with more borax did not stretch as far because I did not increase the amount of the controlled variable, to help even out the mixture. My data showed that when the amount of borax increases, there is a great amount of liquid left in the bowl. This happens because if there is a large amount of borax in the mixture, there is not enough glue and water mixture to again help even out the mixture. In the first test with 1 1/2 teaspoons of borax, I observed the slime was much stretchier and able to stretch better than the second and third test with 3 and 5 1/2 teaspoons of borax in it. This happens because, a polymer is an amorphous solid and when the borax or glue flows through the polymer chain, the polymer changes the shape because of the  bond between the the glue and borax. Matrix is not very strong, so it is bendable to form bonds and form into an amorphous solid, matrix can help polymers form into goop. In the end, my data supported my hypothesis. I knew that when the amount of borax increases, the length or stretchiness decreases because there is not enough glue and water mixture to even it out. 

 

 

  Application of the Results: My science experiment data can be used to help make almost perfect slime. I discovered the polymer with less borax stretches better than the polymer with more borax. This data can be used by slime companies because they can look at my data and see that the polymer that stretched the farthest was the one with less borax. The slime companies can know that the almost perfect slime is the one with less borax and that it can stretch the farthest. My polymer data can be useful to slime companies so they kind of know that the polymer that can stretch the farthest is the one with less borax.

 

Analysis and Evaluation: In this experiment, I came accross many problems. I had trouble rolling out the polymer with less borax because the polymer was very goopy and it was an amorphous solid. What worked well in this experiment was, I measured the polymer pretty accurately in centimeters. If I could do this experiment again, I would change the type of glue I used. I used Elmer's white glue, but next time I am going to try using Elmer's clear gel glue to see if it causes how the polymer stretches. I would also add more water and glue mixture to the borax and water mixture and see if that has anything to do with the stretchiness of polymers. I would also test at least 3 times and average out the data to see the averages and compare. Testing how the amount of borax affects the stretchiness of borax lead me to many questions like: What would happen to the polymer if I used a different type of glue? Why was there so much liquid left in the bowl after making the polymer with more borax in it? What would happen if I changed the controlled variables?  

 

Abstract: In this experiment I will be testing how the amount of borax affects the stretchiness of polymers. Does the polymer with less borax stretch the farthest? Or does the polymer with more borax not stretch as much? Polymers are made up of large molecules that are chemically formed by thousands of molecules called "monomers." Polymers are amorphous solids- meaning they have no definite shape and they can take form of different volumes. Borax is another ingredient to make a polymer. Adding borax to the glue mixture, the molecules that go through the polymer chain, link together, forming a gooey slime. The polymer link is not very strong, so it can stretch and bend. I predicted that adding more borax in the polymer will reduce its stretchiness beacause the boron will stiffen the polymer. I predicted that the polymer with more borax will not stretch as far. My collected data supported my hypothesis.

 

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