Getting Slimed

Following up on our discussions and investigations into various states of matter, students today combined a liquid (white glue), another liquid (tap water) and a solid (borax) to create a substance ("Slime") that seemed to have the characteristics sometimes of a liquid and sometimes of a solid.  It gave us a great opportunity to discuss solids and liquids (including a spirited discussion about whether borax powder was a solid or a liquid--finally using an example of marbles in a jar to decide that borax was probably a collection of thousands of tiny solids).  We also touched on the difference between physical changes and chemical changes before exploring the differences observed among the various batches as well as the attributes of each individual's slime.  Along the way I think some students had a bit of fun playing with their slime.