Rocket ScientistHomemade Plastic

 

StarWhat you need:

  • milk
  • vinegar
  • food coloring
  • pot
  • wooden spoon

StarWhat do you do?

  1. Pour 1/2 cup of milk into the pot.
  2. Add a few drops of food coloring
  3. Stir the milk as you bring it to a boil over medium heat. You will see the milk bubble as it boils.
  4. When the milk boils, slowly stir in 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Keep stirring!
  5. Within a few second, the mixture will become hard and rubbery.
  6. Let the rubbery glob cool.
  7. Once it has cooled, rinse it under cool water.
  8. Now you can play with your homemade plastic. Throw it away when you are finished.

StarHow does it work?

Vinegar is an acid. When the vinegar is added to the warm milk, a chemical reaction occurs. The particles in the milk are rearranged so they clump together. This blob becomes a lump of "plastic." Plastics are materials that can be pulled into new shapes which they then keep. They do not return to their original shape like elastic materials do.