Milk, it’s something that most people have in their refrigerators. We can drink milk, pour it into our cereal and use it for recipes, but I bet you never thought you can use it as glue?
Now you can turn milk into glue with these two fun science experiments. This science experiment is perfect for 1st grade students. Try them both to find out which one makes a better glue. Follow the step-by-step directions below to turn milk into glue with this fun science experiment for 1st grade.
Experiment 1 Heat
In the first experiment you will try to turn milk into glue with heat. Remember never use a stove without a grownup.
Materials
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 3 teaspoons of white vinegar
- baking soda
- water
- pan
- strainer
Step 1: Pour your 1 1/2 cups of milk into the pan over medium heat. Let the milk heat up until it is warm (never leave children unattended while using the stove).
Step 2: Once the milk is warm add the 3 teaspoons of white vinegar.
Step 3: Over low to medium heat stir the mixture. You will see milk lumps or curds start to appear. This happens when the liquid and solids start to separate.
Step 4: Once you have a lot of lumps strain the liquid using a strainer.
Step 5: You should be able to mold the lumps into a ball. It will be slimy.
Step 6: Put the lump back into the pan. Add a tablespoon of baking soda and a small amount of water.
Step 7: Stir and heat the mixture on medium heat until it starts to bubble.
Step 8: Once the mixture bubbles remove it from the heat and let it cool.
Step 9: It should look like a thick paste, it not continue to add baking soda and water until it is a paste consistency.
Step 10: Try using it as glue.
You may be asking yourself, how did this happen? Let’s find out!
When you added the vinegar to the milk it caused a chemical reaction. The milk separated into two parts the liquid and the solid (the milk lumps or curds) The curds or lumps are the milk protein called casein.
Casein is a long molecule that bends like plastic forming a natural glue. When you added the baking soda (a base) to the vinegar (acid) another chemical reaction took place.
The bubbles that you saw when the mixture was heating was the carbon dioxide giving off as part of the chemical reaction turning the milk lumps or curds into a sticky, paste glue.
Experiment 2 No Heat
In this experiment, you will try to turn milk into glue without heat.
Materials
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- coffee filter
- 2 tall cups
- bowl
- spoon
- rubber band
Step 1: Pour 1/2 cup of milk into one cup.
Step 2: Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to the milk and stir.
Step 3: Put the coffee filter loosely over the second cup and secure it with a rubber band. The coffee filter should be drooping a little in the center.
Step 4: Slowly pour the milk and white vinegar mixture over the coffee filter.
Step 5: Let the liquid drip through the coffee filter. This takes a while I actually let the mixture drip for about an hour so It was all out.
Step 6: Once all the liquid is gone scrape off the milk lumps.
Step 7: Place the milk lumps (curds) into a bowl then add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Mix well
Step 8: The mixture should become sticky and paste like. Try using it as glue.
Variations
Where you able to get glue from these experiments? Which experiment worked? Try changing the amount of milk or baking soda what happens? Try using whole, 2% and 1% milk which one made the best glue?
Did it work? Let us know, send us a message at kidsplayandcreate@gmail.com
