Sodium Silicate Polymer Lab Investigation

1.) Both of the polymers that we made were the same color and they were pliable. The borax and glue polymer was more of a rubber material while the sodium silicate material was more solid and grainy. The glue and borax polymer was very smooth and the sodium silicate polymer less moist.

2.) Most polymers are carbon-based, but it is possible to create a silicon-based polymer. Carbon and silicon are similar in that they are both found in Group 14 of the periodic table, but they also have many differing factors. Among them is the fact that carbon is a gas at room temperature while silicon is not. The structure of the two elements is also different.

3.) Plastics and silicone polymers are similar because they have a similar chemical makeup.

4.) I could tell when the chemical reaction had taken place when the two liquids steadily turned into a solid. They were dif

ficult to mix because of their solid quality.

5.) We could tell that the ethyl alcohol was being pressed out of the mass of crumpled solid because the sodium silicate was much more thick. The ethyl alcohol also left an alcohol smelling residue on our hands.

6.) The ball we created was thicker in diameter than the other group's ball. Their's rebounded higher than ours because of its small size, but other than that, they were identical.

In this investigation, it was found that the two liquids ethyl alcohol and sodium silicate could combine to make a solid polymer. The ethyl alcohol was much thicker than the sodium silicate. When the running water was applied to the ball at the end, it helped the sodium silicate keep the ethyl alcohol together. I think it was because the ethyl alcohol is so thick that it needs the water to balance out the density of the compound. The only possible problem we encountered was when we poured the alcohol into the sodium silicate solution. It may have been poured a little bit too quickly and that may have hindered the outcome slightly.

With the rebound test, the results from the borax, glue, and water polymer were that it bounced 9 cm at room temperature

and 6 cm after having been in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. In the test with the sodium silicate and alcohol, the polymer bounced 15 cm at room temperature an 10 cm when placed in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. I think that this result occurred because the borax and glue polymer was more rubbery and could, therefore, bounce more easily while the alcohol and sodium silicate polymer was more solid and dense. The rubbery material could bounce more easily because it was lighter and less hard than the sodium silicate polymer. I had thought that the sodium silicate would bouncy lower than the borax and glue because of its texture, but I had no anticipated the difference in the rebound.