Investigating the Reactions Between Polyvinyl Alcohol and...

Investigating the Reactions between Polyvinyl Alcohol and Borax in Making a Rubber Ball Introduction Chemistry, while usually thought of as being practiced mostly in labs, actually affects everyone, everywhere. Chemistry and chemical processes are constantly occurring. We are dependent on them. The air that we breathe, the food that we eat, and thousands of other simple and confusing things depend on chemistry. In this particular case, the relationship between Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and Sodium Borate (Borax) is being investigated. PVA is a water soluble synthetic polymer (Maciborski, and Salamone), while Borax is a natural mineral with many household uses. It can be used as herbicide, to bleach teeth, as a household cleaner, and a†¦show more content†¦The decision was made to manipulate the ratio of PVA to borax, as that would allow for different results. The first ratio chosen was 10:1, as it was thought to be a good starting point. However, many experiments are needed to reach a conclusion, so more ratios were tested out; the ratios 5:1, 3:1, and 2:1 were included as wel l, to get a variety of results. With all these different options, it would be possible to see which ratio was the closest and how that would impact the rest of the experiment. The Borax and PVA were poured from their respective beakers into a smaller (100mL) beaker, and then the solutions were stirred together thoroughly. This was done for all the ratios. 20 mL of PVA and 2 mL of Borax were used for the 10:1 ratio; 10mL PVA and 2mL Borax for the 5:1. 12 mL PVA and 4mL Borax for the 3:1; and 10mL PVA and 5mL Borax for the 2:1 ratio. The mixtures, after being made, were all allowed to rest in the beaker for 5 minutes. After the allotted time, the mixtures were taken out of the beakers using rubber gloves, since they are a mild skin irritant due to the fact that they contain Borax (â€Å"Material Safety Data Sheet†). They were then molded into a ball and tested for durability, shape retention, and bounce. The ones having the best of all the aforementioned qualities (5:1, 3:1, and 2:1 ratios) were then saved and put into plastic bags to be used in the succeeding