We can drink milk, pour it into our cereal and use it for many recipes, but have you ever thought you can use it as glue? Now you can turn milk into glue with these two fun science experiments. Try them both to find out which one makes a better glue. Follow the step-by-step directions below to make your very own milk glue
Items needed:
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.
How did this happen? 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.
No heat way to try this experiment
Items needed:
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.
Other Milk Glue Experiment Ideas:
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?
