Materials Needed
- cornstarch
- water
- food coloring
- bowl
- spoon
- measuring cups and spoons
Procedures
- Put ½ cup cornstarch into a bowl.
- Add ¼ cup water and 1 tablespoon water to the cornstarch and mix. It will be very hard to stir, but keep working at it.
- Stir in a few drops of food coloring. This will take a while to mix in, too.
- Now you can have some fun with your goop! Squeeze it; roll it into a ball, break it apart, let it lay on your hands. What happens?
What’s Happening?
The cornstarch and water didn’t form a solution. The solid particles are held up by the water molecules but not dissolved in them. This is called a “suspension.” Squeezing keeps the suspension together and it feels solid, but when you stop squeezing, the liquid and solid begin to come apart and the goop starts to feel like liquid. Weird, huh?
