Sodium Silicate Polymer Lab

REACTION 

Silicon is a very interesting type of atom. Like carbon, silicon makes four chemical bonds and can branch out in four directions to make long chains. n sodium silicate, the silicon atom is bonded to four oxygen atoms and is not linked in any chains. The ethyl alcohol has just two carbon atoms. When sodium silicate and ethyl alcohol are put together, the silicate particles begin to link up with each other to form long chains as the ethyl groups (sometimes shown as "R") replace oxygen atoms in the silicate ion. Some become cross-linked between chains. Water molecules are byproducts of the formation of the polymerization bond. 

QUESTIONS

What characteristics are similar between your two types of polymers you have made? Differences? One difference between the two polymers would be the appearance. The first polymer  looked wet and shiny, and the second one looked somewhat rough. Another difference would be the way they felt. The first one felt sticky and very much like Silly Putty, and the second one felt almost exactly like a smooth rock. The first one was also very flexible, but the second one wasn't flexible at all. However, there were some similarities, such as they were both shades of white, and they were similar in shape (circles). 

Most commercial polymers are carbon based. What similar properties do carbon and silicon share that may contribute to their abilities to polymerize?  Some similar properties are that they have the same number of electrons (4). They are also both very abundant.

Plastics are made of organic (carbon based) polymers. What similarities does the silicone share with plastics? Both silicon and plastic are able to change into any shape.

How did you know that a chemical reaction had taken place when the two liquids were mixed? I knew because it started to become gel-like and it stuck to the stirring rod.

How could you find out what liquid was pressed out of the mass of crumbled solid as you formed the ball? I knew that the liquid was water, because when you ran it under water, its' shape became more changeable.

Compare your ball with those of the other members of the class. How many properties can you compare (e.g., diameter of sphere versus height of bounce)? List and compare them.  Some people's ball had bounced a little lower than ours. Our ball bounced 23 cm high, but a lot of people's didn't even bounce 20 cm, but some bounced even higher, like 25-26 cm. All the balls were pretty much the same size and shape.

OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS 

My hypothesis was that when the sodium silicate and the ethyl alcohol get mixed together, they will become a gel-like solid becasue the sodium silicate is denser, and the alcohol isn't, so it will become gel-like, but not totally solid. This mypothesis was correct, because it did become gel-like before it became completely hard.