Title Cornstarch Suspension Overview Will be able to occupy a child of any age with the use of cornstarch. The student will be able to feel the different textures that cornstarch has when water is added. Subject(s) Science Grade Level(s) Pre-School Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Suggested Time 15 Minutes Materials states of matter, suspension Objectives Students will be able to: Try an experiment made of cornstarch. Teach it to other children. Feel the differences that cornstarch has when water is added. Answer questions on how cornstarch suspension reacts to different ways of touches. Materials 1 Cup of Cornstarch Bowl About 1/2 Cup of Water Spoon Pie Plate Food Coloring (Optional) On-Line Resources Observation Worksheet Preparation Get all materials together. Motivation Talk briefly about the three states of matter - solid, liquid and gas. Show the children an example of each (rock, water and air work well) Activity Empty 1 cup of cornstarch into a large bowl. Stir while you add water SLOWLY -- don't add all of it if you don't need to. You need the consistency of thick pancake batter. It's better to add too little water than too much. Stick your hands in the mixture. Record what it feels like. What happens when you try to roll some into a ball and then leave it alone? Pour the water into a pie plate. (water is a liquid) smack it with your hand record what happens Empty the pie plate. Pour the cornstarch mixture into a pie plate. smack it with your hand record what happens does it act differently than the water? Conclusion When we talk about "states" of matter, we usually talk about the three types: solid (like a rock), liquid (like water) and gas (like the air we breath). A mixture of cornstarch and water make what is known as a suspension. When you squeeze a Cornstarch Suspension it really feels like a solid because its molecules line up. But it looks like a liquid and acts like a liquid when no one is pressing on it because the molecules relax. This is another state of matter, called a suspension (It can act like a liquid, or, when pressed like a solid.).