LessonPlan:GooeyGak

Howtovideo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYTa1REOGk

Citation:
"PBSLearningMedia."GooeyGak.N.p.,n.d.Web.09Nov.2014.
<http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/sf10.sci.ps.psci.soliqgas.lpshakeit/gooeygak/>.

Endorsement
Subject
Class
Unit
Lesson
Resources

Elementary/MiddleSchool6thgrade
Science
Chemistry
NonNewtonianFluids
GooeyGak
Print:Writteninstructions/recipeforGooeyGakscienceexperiment
Nonprint:ScienceFridayvideosegmentGiveitaShake,CornstarchComesAliveand
HowtovideoaboutGooeyGak.
Standard
NationalStandards:
4D/M1cd(Grades:68):Atomsmaylinktogetherinwelldefinedmolecules,or
maybepackedtogetherincrystalpatterns.Differentarrangementsofatomsinto
groupscomposeallsubstancesanddeterminethecharacteristicpropertiesof
substances.
4D/M3cd(Grades:68):Insolids,theatomsormoleculesarecloselylockedin
positionandcanonlyvibrate.Inliquids,theyhavehigherenergy,aremore
looselyconnected,andcanslidepastoneanothersomemoleculesmayget
enoughenergytoescapeintoagas.Ingases,theatomsormoleculeshavestill
moreenergyandarefreeofoneanotherexceptduringoccasionalcollisions.
Introduction
Thislessonwillbeanexperimentinwhichstudentswillcreatetheirownexampleofa
NonNewtonianfluidcalledGooeyGak.Thiswillreinforcetheideathatnotevery
substancefallsintojustonecategoryofthephasesofmatter.Thisexperimentspurpose
istohighlightthecomplexityofmatter.
Technology
Technologywillbeusedinthislessoninthatstudentswillwatchthevideobeforedoing
Uses/Materials theexperimentinordertoacquaintthemwiththetopicbeforethelessonandthehowto
Needed
videoaboutGooeyGakwillalsobeavailabletostudentsincasetheyneedclarification
onanystepoftheexperiment.

Materialsneededforthelessoninclude:Boraxpowder,water,glue,foodcoloring
(optional),cups,andspoons.
Objectives
Objective1:Studentswillbeabletounderstandandknowkeyvocabularyrelatedtothe
unitofnonNewtonianfluids.

Objective2:Studentswillbeabletofollowtheinstructions/recipeinorderto
successfullycreatetheirownexampleofanonNewtonianfluid.

Objective3:Increatingtheirownexample,studentswillbeabletoseethecomplexityof
thephasesofmatterinordertobetterunderstandthatsomesubstancesdonotalwaysfall
intoonecategoryofmatter(i.e.solid,liquid,gas)andthatsomesubstancescanhave
characteristicsofmorethanonephaseofmatter.

Preparingthe
Student

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Assessmentof
Student
Learning

Lesson
Sequence

InordertopreparethestudentsfortheexperimentofmakingGooeyGak,itwillbe
necessarytofirstreviewsomekeyvocabularythatwillaidtheminthislesson,i.e:

Molecule:thesmallestparticleofasubstancethatretainsallthepropertiesofthe
substance.Amoleculeiscomposedofoneormoreatoms.
NonNewtonianFluid:afluidthathasthecharacteristicsofbothasolidandaliquid,
dependingontheamountofforceappliedtoit.
Polymer:alongchainedmoleculeconsistingofsmallerrepeatingmolecularunits
(knownasmonomers).
LinearPolymer:apolymerinwhichthemolecularunitsarelinkedinalinearfashion.
CrosslinkedPolymer:apolymerinwhichadjacentlinearmolecularchainsare
connectedtogether.

ThestudentsshouldalsowatchtheScienceFridayvideosegmentGiveitaShake,
CornstarchComesAlivebeforestartingtheexperimentinordertogivetheman
introductiontothetopicsbeingdiscussedinthislesson.TheHowtovideowillbe
availabletostudentsaswellincasethereissomethingtheydonotunderstandinthe
printedinstructions.
1. Remembering:Thestudentsshouldbeabletodefinesciencevocabularyusedin
thelesson,suchasthetermsmolecule,nonNewtonianfluid,polymer,
crosslinkedandlinearpolymer.
2. Understanding:StudentswillexplainintheirownwordswhatanonNewtonian
fluidandapolymeris,andwhatmakestheGakmaterialanexampleofit.
3. Applying:AfterviewingtheGiveItAShakevideo,havestudentsexplainwhy
cornstarchwasanonNewtoniansubstance,andidentifyexamplesinthereal
worldthatcouldalsobeanonNewtonianfluidsotheycanshowtheir
understandingoftheconcept.
4. Analyzing:StudentswilltaketotimetoobservetheGakmaterialtheyhave
createdandplaywithittofindcharacteristicsthatclassifyitaswhichsubstance.
TheobservationswillguidestudentsastheydistinguishwhatmakestheGak
materialanonNewtonianfluidorpolymer.
5. Evaluating:Studentswillcomparehowdiffferentsubstancesmakedifferent
typesofpolymersorNonNewtonianfluids.Andwillhypothesizehowvariables
suchastimewilleffectthepropertiesofthegak.
6. Creating:Studentswilltakeeverythingtheyhavelearnedaboutinclasstocreate
theirownnonNewtonianfluid,akaGak.
1. HavestudentswatchthevideoGiveItAShake,CornstarchComesAlive.
2. IntroducethematerialsthestudentswillusetomakeGak,anotherformofa
nonNewtonianfluidliketheoneshowninthevideo.
3. HavethestudentsmixtogethertheBoraxpowderwiththewater.Continueadding
Boraxpowderuntilitnolongerdissolvesinthewater.Setaside.
4. Pouroneteaspoonofglueintoaseparatecup.Askthestudentswhatsome
characteristicsareoftheglue.Askthemwhattheythinkwouldhappenifthey
addedwatertotheglue.Tellthestudentstoaddoneteaspoonofwatertotheglue.
Askthestudentswhatsomecharacteristicsareofgluemixedwithwater.
5. Havethestudentspredictwhatwouldhappeniftheglue/watermixturewas
combinedwiththeBoraxmixture.Havethestudentscombinethemixture.Have
themdescribesomecharacteristicsofthemixture.
6. Havethestudentstouchthemixture.Andtryotheractions,likebounceit,pullit,
etc.Askthestudentsifthemixturehascharacteristicsofaliquidorsolid?

Measurement
ofSuccess

Successwillbemeasuredinclassintheexperimentitself.Studentswillbegradedon
theirabilityoffollowinginstructions,completingtheexperiment,andtheirabilityto
finishwiththeintendedandaccurateproduct(GooeyGak).