What characteristics are similar between the two types of polymers you have made? Differences?
A: They are both bouncy, shiny and white. They were also both formed by combining two things to create a polymer. The differences are that the second one we crated is very hard and keeps its shape while the first one was very gooey and levels out over time.
Most commercial polymers are carbon based. What similar properties do carbon and silicon share that may contribute to their abilities to polymer.
A: Silicon and carbon share the ability to bond with nearly anything and give up as many as 4 electrons.
Darklight, Moe. "Silicon vs Carbon." Physics Forum . 13 Feb 2007. Web. 3 Mar 2011. .
Plastics are made of organic (carbon based) polymers. What similarities does the silicone polymer share with plastics.
A: A similarity they share are that they are both based on ethyl or ethyl based products.
Haswell, Christine; Brule, Joe; Icantu, Ismael; Hui, Katty, . "CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - WE'RE ALMOST EVERYWHERE!." Washington.edu. Washington University , n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2011. .
How did you know that a chemical reaction had taken place when the two liquids mixed.
A: I knew it was a chemical reaction when the two liquids changed form from a liquid to a solid.
How could you find out what liquid was pressed out of the mass of crumbled solid as you formed the ball?
A: There are many ways to find out what liquid was lost. You could Google™ the answer or just think that you need to "re-hydrate" the polymer which means that there is not water in it.
Compare your ball with those of the other members of class. How many properties can you compare (e.g., diameter, height of bounce, weight)? List and compare them.
A: Both look white, wax like, were hard to mold, smelled like muted rubbing alcohol, looked marbled before chilled but glossy after.
Results:
"When sodium silicate solution is added to ethyl alcohol, a polymer is formed. Sodium silicate solution contains sodium hydroxide and silicon dioxide. Sodium hydroxide as a strong base. Under these basic conditions, silicate chains form. When ethyl alcohol is added to sodium silicate solution, two oxygen atoms of silicate are replaced by ethyl with loss of water." The ethyl is the cross linker that prevents the long polymer chains of the silicate solution from sliding past each other and acting like a liquid.
Unlike my old polymer, the new one came out powdery like snow. It was bright white and in little chunks. In order to get it into a ball it had to be moisturized with water. We dropped the polymer from 3ocm five times and it rebounded to an average height of 18cm, much higher than the other polymer. We then put it into a refrigerator for just over ten minutes and then tested the height of its rebound again. Much like the other polymer, after it was chilled it rebounded higher than before. It rebounded to an average height of 20cm. Overall, this polymer behaves the same as the other one but feels much different.
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