Sandie Koontz

Ghostbuster Slime

Science Concept: A polymer similar to starch will be used to make slime.

Materials: 7 g Guar gum

Sodium borate solution, 4% (4 g sodium borate, 100 mL distilled water)

Stirring rods

100 mL -distilled water

10 mL-graduated cylinder

Food coloring

Directions: To make up the sodium borate solution, stir 4 g of sodium borate into 100 mL of distilled water. Pour 100 mL of distilled water into a beaker and add a few drops of food coloring. To this add any where up to 7 g of Guar gum to the water and stir until it is dissolved. Sometimes it is hard to dissolve this much Guar gum, so just sprinkle some and keep stirring until it thickens, it will thicken within a few seconds. Now add 5 mL of sodium borate solution and stir. The mixture should gel within a minute. The slime may be stored in an airtight container (like a zip-lock bag) to keep it from drying out.

Introduction: "Has anyone ever heard of the Ghostbusters?" "Ya know who ya gonna call?" "The Ghostbusters was really popular when I was your age, and we loved watching the Ghostbusters get slimed, with a green gooey mixture."

Explanation: The Guar gum that I used to make the slime is a polymer starch. These polymers are made from glucose units that are referred to as monomers. The monomers are all attached to each other, one after another, represented by: (A-A-A-A). When the sodium borate is added, a cross-link is formed between several of the A-A-A-A chains. This reaction of the guar gum with borate makes the slime, because the borate attaches the chains together in several places.

Safety Disposal: Toss in garbage. Rinse out dish that it was made in.

Reference: Chem Fax. Flinn Scientific Inc., 1994.