Cornstarch is an essential ingredient found in every household cupboard closely associating with the baking heavy hitters: sugar, flour and baking soda. It comes to us from the corn plant and is primarily used as a
thickening agent in our sauces, soups and gravies among its many other uses. It is a starch that contains a lot of sugars linked together; sometimes in a nice straight-ish line and sometimes branched all over the place. These structures give cornstarch some unique properties. One of them is being able to absorb water and thicken things and another is to have a fluid behavior that is quite unexpected. It’s these unique properties that we will be exploring in this mini-unit of multiple hands-on labs.
Lesson Essentials
- Kansas College and Career Ready Standards
- Learning Objectives
- Materials
- Safety Considerations
- Procedure for Lab
- Background Information
- Procedures for Instruction and Preparation Procedure
- Viscosity Trials
- Classroom Discussion
- Extension Activities
- Teacher Resources
- Reflection and Conclusion
- Assessments
- Disclaimer
About Kansas Corn STEM
Investing in Kansas teachers and students is a priority for the Kansas Corn Commission. We are committed to providing materials and training to support STEM education while fostering an understanding of how corn farming and agriculture fit into our daily lives. Professional development workshops are offered to teachers seeking to expand their knowledge and inquiry-based teaching skills. Workshop participants receive free lab supplies needed for the lessons.
Workshop InfoThis lesson is the work product of the Kansas Corn Commission. Our lessons are written in collaboration with Kansas teachers for use in the classroom. Teachers may copy and share this curriculum. Use of this product for commercial or promotional use is prohibited without express permission of Kansas Corn.
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