http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_silly_semisolids/semisolid_sue.xmlactivitytext/xmlJacqueline Lanfranchi, Mark Bronski, Mike Galecki, chemistryelasticitypolymerviscosityviscoelasticity

Student teams make polymers using ordinary household supplies (glue, borax, water). They experiment with the semi-soid material when warm and cold to see and feel its elastic and viscous properties. Is it a solid, a liquid, or something in between? How might it be used?

Viscoelastic materials have a wide variety of applications. Many prosthetic implants require materials that have these properties. Biomedical and biomechanical engineers investigate and design these materials to get the best possible combination of elastic and viscous properties in one material to support the functioning of the protheses that they create. To understand the properties of polymers and determine whether they are solids, liquids or something in between.Discuss real-world applications of polymers.3345TeachEngineering.orgJacqueline Lanfranchi, Mark Bronski, Mike GaleckiS100CFB8MassachusettsScience2.1 Distinguish among tension, compression, shear, and torsion, and explain how they relate to the selection of materials in structures.912S102647CMassachusettsScience7.1 Explain the manufacturing processes of casting and molding, forming, separating, conditioning, assembling, and finishing.912United StatesCopyright 2012 - Jacqueline Lanfranchi, Mark Bronski, Mike Galecki, Tufts Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-09-099Teacher