Sodium Silicate Polymer Lab

   The hypothesis was proven, the combined ethyl alcohol and sodium silicate created a polymer. We combined the two substances in a beaker and stirred it together. The resulting polymer was wax-like, white, and hard. If it was molded too much, then flakes would start to come off and the ball would start to crumble.
   Silicon is a very unique atom. It makes many branches and can stretch out to form long chemical chains. When the sodium silicate is added to ethyl it created a polymer. It has a strong base, and under those conditions the polymer formed. When they are added together, the silicate starts to link up and form chains. When the ball was formed, water was lost and replace by the ethyl, which acted as a cross-linker.
   The rebound test was performed twice, once room temperature, and once chilled. When dropped at room temperature from 30cm, the rebound was about 19cm. It was then put in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. At the chilled temperature, it was again dropped from 30cm, and the rebound was about 20cm. Overall, the polymer seemed more bouncy than the glue polymer.
   Both polymers from the two tests came together in the same way, and formed by stirring. They both had bounce and physical shine. The two polymers also had the same whitish color. The main difference between the two was texture. The glue polymer was flexible and putty-like, while the sodium silicate polymer was hard and waxy. Both carbon and silicon have the incredible ability to bond, which may contribute to their ability to polymerize because they can bond to the monomers and bond them together.
Plastics are made of organic (carbon based) polymers. Ethyl is made to make plastic, as well as make the polymer. You could tell that there was a chemical reaction when the two substances were mixed because they changed form and bonded together to create a new substance. The liquid that was pressed out of the ball was water. The atoms are replaced with ethyl when the water is pressed out, forming it together.
Compared with other balls in the class, the members of the group behind us had a ball that was white, hard to mold, and smelled like rubbing alcohol. Physically their ball was very similar to ours, and was similar in the bounce test. After the first rebound test, their ball crumbled, while ours stayed intact. It was also smaller in size.

Darklight, Moe. "silicon vs. carbon." 2/17/07. Online Posting to Physics Forum. Web. 3 Mar 20