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Polymer Bead—Demonstration Kit

By: The Flinn Staff

Polymer Bead Demonstration Kit
Polymer Bead Demonstration Kit

Item #: AP6647

Price: $30.20

In Stock.

The Polymer Bead Demonstration Kit will stop students in their tracks! A beaker is filled with a long string of beads. With just a slight pull on one end of the chain, the beads suddenly rise in the beaker and eventually spill over the side!

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Product Details

Wow! A gravity-defying demonstration that will stop students in their tracks! A beaker is filled with a 50-foot-long string of beads. With just a slight pull on one end of the chain, the beads will suddenly lift themselves out of and come tumbling over the side of the upright beaker. This amazing feat mirrors the behavior of “self-siphoning” polymer gels, such as polyethylene oxide. Use this highly visual demonstration to illustrate the structure of polymers. This low-cost demonstration may be used over and over again. It’s sure to be a hit in your classroom! Teacher Demonstration Notes included.

Concepts: Polymers, monomers.
Time Required: 15 minutes

Specifications

Materials Included in Kit: 
Polymer bead strand, 50 feet


Correlation to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)†

Science & Engineering Practices

Developing and using models
Asking questions and defining problems

Disciplinary Core Ideas

MS-PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
MS-PS2.B: Types of Interactions
MS-LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
HS-PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
HS-LS1.A: Structure and Function
HS-LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

Crosscutting Concepts

Structure and function
Patterns
Systems and system models

Performance Expectations

MS-PS1-1: Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
MS-PS1-2: Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
HS-PS1-1: Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
HS-PS1-3: Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
HS-PS2-6: Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
HS-ESS2-5: Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.