Obleck!

Plasticity Lab

Problem: What is the plasticity of the Earth's mantle like?
Hypothesis: If we mix cornstarch and water together then it will make a solid with the properties of a liquid like the crust.
Materials:

• Water
• Cornstarch
• 2 beakers

Procedures:

1. First we added the water to the cornstarch.
2. Then we took turns blending it together.
3. My science teacher added food coloring.
4. We mixed that together too.
5. We played with it and observed it's properties.

Observation and Data: The obleck was very odd. If you pressurized it it became solid but if you just let it sit on your palm it became liquid like and shiny.

Conclusion: The obleck was a good stimulation of the earths mantle. It showed us how liquid and solid coexist. The only thing wrong was we didn't have a stimulation of the crusts pressure on the obleck. But other then that it was fine. I learned about how solid and liquid coexist under the crust. I can apply this knowledge in the real world by knowing how obleck is like people. If you put them under pressure they harden but if just leave them alone they soften and relax.