Guar Gum Science Experiments
Guar gum is a versatile material to use in science experiments. You can use it to demonstrate certain aspects of biological functions, such as some parts of the digestive process, or you can treat it as a physical entity and use it to show your students how matter acts under different forces.
-
Make Fake Mucous
-
Use guar gum to talk about the functions and benefits of mucous in our intestines. Mix borax with water in a large bowl until no more detergent will dissolve into the water, then add 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum powder. Pour in another 250 mL of water and a few drops of green food coloring to make the fake mucous look authentic. Seal the mixture in a large container with a lid and shake it hard for five minutes.
As the children play with the fake mucous, discuss the importance of mucous in the digestive system.
Material Properties
-
Let the students manipulate the guar gum with their hands. Ask them to pull it slowly or pull it quickly. Let them throw the gum at a clean, object-free wall and see what happens. Pour some slime into a funnel and ask the class what they think will happen next and get them make notes of their observations. Explain how the molecules are moving inside the guar gum to create the different textures and shape changes seen during the experiment.
-
Food Science
-
Guar gum is found in the guar bush, a member of the legume family. It is used widely as a stabilizer for food such as ice cream and replaces the use of the animal protein gelatin. With this information, and a sample of edible, food-grade guar gum, you can teach the students about food safety, the ethics of using animal or plant proteins in human food and the chemistry of stabilizer compounds. Illustrate the importance of knowing what goes inside the food we see on the shop shelves by baking two types of cookie: one containing small blobs of guar gum and one without. Ask the students to spot the difference by breaking the food up and looking inside the mixture. See if they can find the evidence of the addition of guar gum, and if they can't, ask them why.
Colloids and Polymer Science
-
Make plenty of fresh guar gum and distribute small tubs to groups of two or three students in the class. Let them work with the material first, building up an idea of how the gum moves, and is structured before explaining to them to science of long molecules, or polymers, and colloids. Ask the students to guess whether the guar gum is a solid or liquid and what distinguishes the two states.
Discuss heating and cooling, state changes, sublimation, and boiling and melting points of different materials.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
