Intro:
In this project our goal was to find out the science behind how bouncy balls work and how to make them. While experimenting with the bouncy balls, you'll find that we not only learned to measure ingredients, but also how to try out our hypothesis' and explore with the ingredients to make the ideal polymer bouncy ball.
Looking Back:
Our experiment turned out slightly different than what we originally expected. We expected to make functional professional looking Polymer bouncy balls but they ended up looking different. The picture on the project we searched up was of shiny round bouncy balls, but ours ended up looking mushy and the color was faded as well. We tried bouncing them, but the highest they would go would be just under a foot.
Looking Beyond:
When making the bouncy balls, a reaction occurs between the borax and the glue. The borax molecules link with the glue molecules to form a chain of molecules that stay together when you pick them up, and the cornstarch is used to bind the molecules together so that they hold their shape better.
Looking Inward:
I did get desirable results but not to the extent that I wanted. My ball ended up successful but it fell apart after a day or two. However, within those 2 days, it was able to bounce at least a foot high. So my bouncy ball was semi successful. I believe the reason my ball fell apart was because I put too much cornstarch which hardened the ball. I believe I performed well during this project because I made a semi functional ball while the other ones had problems with bouncing and keeping their figure.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Nayeli, Maia, and Audrey S. As a group, I like how we performed. We all contributed in bringing in ingredients for the project, and helped each other perform the experiment. So over all I think my group did a great job performance wise.
Looking Forward:
If I could do this again, I would probably put less cornstarch on my ball because it hardened the outside making the ball less bouncy. I would love to work with this group again because they're very productive, contributive, and on task. Therefore, I am already planning a future experiment with them. I don't know how I could continue this experiment but if I could, I would because I want to see if my observation would help me make a better ball the second time. I will try to do this with my brothers at home because I'm curious to see if I can make a working bouncy ball.
Take Away:
In this project I kind of learned to explore and test out hypothesis' because when making the bouncy ball, the ingredients and measurements aren't set, so you are free to explore with the quantity of ingredients you use. For example, my bouncy ball was made by my experimentation with different measurements of cornstarch. Because of this, my ball ended up being the most successful out of the bunch. All because I decided to explore.
In this project our goal was to find out the science behind how bouncy balls work and how to make them. While experimenting with the bouncy balls, you'll find that we not only learned to measure ingredients, but also how to try out our hypothesis' and explore with the ingredients to make the ideal polymer bouncy ball.
Looking Back:
Our experiment turned out slightly different than what we originally expected. We expected to make functional professional looking Polymer bouncy balls but they ended up looking different. The picture on the project we searched up was of shiny round bouncy balls, but ours ended up looking mushy and the color was faded as well. We tried bouncing them, but the highest they would go would be just under a foot.
Looking Beyond:
When making the bouncy balls, a reaction occurs between the borax and the glue. The borax molecules link with the glue molecules to form a chain of molecules that stay together when you pick them up, and the cornstarch is used to bind the molecules together so that they hold their shape better.
Looking Inward:
I did get desirable results but not to the extent that I wanted. My ball ended up successful but it fell apart after a day or two. However, within those 2 days, it was able to bounce at least a foot high. So my bouncy ball was semi successful. I believe the reason my ball fell apart was because I put too much cornstarch which hardened the ball. I believe I performed well during this project because I made a semi functional ball while the other ones had problems with bouncing and keeping their figure.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Nayeli, Maia, and Audrey S. As a group, I like how we performed. We all contributed in bringing in ingredients for the project, and helped each other perform the experiment. So over all I think my group did a great job performance wise.
Looking Forward:
If I could do this again, I would probably put less cornstarch on my ball because it hardened the outside making the ball less bouncy. I would love to work with this group again because they're very productive, contributive, and on task. Therefore, I am already planning a future experiment with them. I don't know how I could continue this experiment but if I could, I would because I want to see if my observation would help me make a better ball the second time. I will try to do this with my brothers at home because I'm curious to see if I can make a working bouncy ball.
Take Away:
In this project I kind of learned to explore and test out hypothesis' because when making the bouncy ball, the ingredients and measurements aren't set, so you are free to explore with the quantity of ingredients you use. For example, my bouncy ball was made by my experimentation with different measurements of cornstarch. Because of this, my ball ended up being the most successful out of the bunch. All because I decided to explore.