Activity+1

Activity #1: Experimenting with States of Matter

__**Materials**:__ cornstarch, water, beaker, stirring rod

__**Procedure**__: Place 1 spoonful of cornstarch in a cup. Add 30 mL of water and stir well. Describe what was present before, during and after the water was added. Write your observations below. Place some of the mixture on the lab table. Touch it with your fingertips. Is it a liquid or a solid?

__**Observations**__: 1. Before the water was added it was a powder. 2. While the water was being added it was a liquid kind of substance. 3. After the water was added it was still a liquid, but after a little while it turned into somewhat of a solid substance.

__**Analysis**__: THIXOTROPIC - When a gel like substance turns into a liquid after it was messed with.

__**How does this definition relate to the activity you just did?**__ It relates to our activity because that is exactly what happened in our ativity except the opposite effect. Instead of it turning into a liquid from a gel, it turned into a gel like substance from a liquid.

__**List three properties of liquids. Of solids.**__ LIQUID - indefinite volume, takes shape of where it is being held, and has a flow. SOLID - definite volume, definite shape, and does not flow like water.