Download Name: Per

Name: _____________________ Per: ___
Lab: Cornstarch and Water
Question: Which state of matter will be produced when cornstarch and water are mixed together?
Background Knowledge: Fill in the blanks.
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Cornstarch is a white powder (solid) and water is a liquid.
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What makes a substance a solid, liquid, or gas has to do with what the particles are like. Particles in a solid
are ______________________. They ________in place and the attractive force between them is
very________. This is why solids have a fixed _________and fixed ________. Similarly, particles in a
liquid stay close together. This is why the volume (the space an object takes up) is ___________ for a
liquid. Yet, the particles in a liquid can ___________________ because the attractive force between the
particles is ___________ than that of a solid. This is why liquids do not have a fixed _________.
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A suspension is a kind of mixture in which particles are unevenly distributed (or spread out).
Amorphous solids: An amorphous solid is a solid in which there is no long-range order or repeating
pattern in the positions of its particles. Most classes of solid materials can be found or prepared
in an amorphous form. Examples of amorphous solids include window glass, many polymers (which
are long strings of particles, such as cornstarch), and even foods such as cotton candy.
For more background knowledge, go to: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/play-doh.htm/printable
Hypothesis: A mixture of cornstarch and water will most likely produce a _____________ (solid or
liquid) because __________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Procedure: Mix 25
grams of cornstarch with 20 ml of liquid water. If mixture is too “watery,” add
small amounts of cornstarch until its consistency is like that of pancake batter. Then, roll the mixture in
your hands. Use your finger to press down hardly on the mixture. Use the spoon or your finger to slap
the surface of your mixture.
Data/Observations:
In at least 3 complete sentences, describe the mixture of cornstarch and water:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
Based on the observations collected, the cornstarch and water mixture is a _____________________.
It is a ____________________________ because ______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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