THE SCIENCE

BEHIND slime
Our world is full of slime makers. Slugs and snails
leave behind gooey trails. Bacteria can create
layers of slippery slime in water pipes. Even your
body makes its own kind of slime. In our joints, we
have slime that helps protect our bones.
What is slime?
 Slime is generally defined as a
sticky substance with a
texture that is not quite liquid
but not quite solid, either.

It is often referred to as
a non-Newtonian fluid, which
means that its viscosity —
how quickly or slowly it flows
— may be affected by factors
other than temperature, such
as pressure and so on.

A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid that does not follow Newton's Law of Viscosity.
Quicksand and ketchup
are examples of
non-Newtonian fluids.
Can you name any other
non-Newtonian fluids?
What is the Science behind slime?
 CROSS-LINKING POLYMERS
MAKE SLIME!
Polymers are made of many, many
molecules all strung together to form
long molecular chains.
 -mer : segment / part

mono : only one poly : many

Therefore, polymers are made of many monomers which are
stuck together.

Mono Mono Mono Mono Mono

Monomer

Polymers
 In our project today, we are going to use
these materials:
• White Glue - (C4H6O2)n
Water : H2O
Glycerin : C6H803
• Shaving Cream Palmitic Acid : C16H32O2
Triethanolamine : C6H15NO3
Stearic Acid : C6H15NO3

• Saline Solution - NaCl

Tools:
• Mixing Bowl
• Wooden Stick
 Glue is made up of something called polymers.
You can think of a polymer like a like a long,
rubbery spaghetti noodle.

When glue is just glue it’s a just a bunch of loose

spaghetti noodles just sliding past each other.

Once you add in the saline solution, you’ve added

in a bunch of claws, and what that does is one
claw grabs one sticky glue polymer, another claw
grabs another one…now two polymer strands are
actually connected through kind of a claw bridge.

Those polymers can no longer slide around. They

become stuck. This happens all across the glue
giving it a thicker, less runny texture.

That’s how slime forms.

 Whip up your slime mixture in no time.
You need to stir fast like you are trying
to really whip up something!

The slime will begin to form immediately

thanks to the mixture of boric acid and
sodium borate that is present in the
saline solution.

These two ingredients are cross linking

agents that create your slime.