Can we simulate the PLASTICITY of the

Asthenosphere?
Materials (per group):
1 Plastic Beaker of water

1 Plastic Beaker with Cornstarch

1 Plastic Spoon

Procedure:
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Obtain all materials from the front counter.

Using the spoon, gradually add small amounts of water to the cornstarch. Stir/chop the
mixture with the spoon.
Continue adding water, using only small amounts at a time. If you add too much water it
wont work!!! Stir, chop, or slice the mixture with the spoon after each addition. When
the mixture becomes difficult to stir, and stops looking dry, stop adding water.
Slowly scoop a spoonful of the mixture out of the beaker and into the middle of your palm.
Squeeze the Goo by squeezing the middle of your palm together (Do NOT make a fist - keep
your fingers extended). Observe what happens to the Goo.
Relax your hand. Observe what happens to the Goo.
Pour/dump the mixture into the garbage NOT INTO THE SINK when you are done!!! You do
NOT need to rise out the beaker.
Place all materials back on the front counter.
Read the information below and answer all of the questions that follow in complete
sentences.

Reading Assignment:
Earths Lithosphere is made up of all of the earths crust PLUS the upper, rigid part of the
mantle. Directly below the Lithosphere is a part of the mantle called the Asthenosphere, which
is made up of SOLID ROCK that has the ability to flow due to the right amount of heat and
pressure. The ability of the Asthenosphere to flow is called Plasticity. Today you are going to
learn more about plasticity by observing the properties of Cornstarch Goo.
Cornstarch Goo is a suspension of cornstarch in water and is an example of something called
a Non-Newtonian Fluid. Basically, Sir Isaac Newton stated that liquids flow at consistent and
predictable rates. As you have likely discovered, Cornstarch Goo does NOT flow at consistent and
predictable rates. Instead, it can change from acting like a solid to flowing like a liquid in a
matter of seconds. Technically speaking, the goo is a suspension, which means that the grains of
starch are not actually dissolved; they are just suspended and spread out in the water. The sudden
application of force for example the force that is exerted when you stab the surface with a
finger or spoon leads to the fluid behaving like a solid rather than a liquid. More gentle
treatment, such as slowly inserting a spoon, will leave the Goo in its liquid state. The substance
acts the way it does because the size, shape, and makeup of the cornstarch grains cause the
cornstarch to lock-up and hold its shape when pressure is applied. People have filled small pools
with Cornstarch Goo and are able to walk across the surface of it as long as they move quickly. As
soon as they stop walking, they begin to sink.
Another way to picture what is happening is to think of a busy sidewalk. The easiest way to
get through a crowd of people is to move slowly and find a path between people. If you just took a
running start and headed straight for the crowd of people, you would quickly slam into someone
and you wouldn't get very far. This is similar to what happens in the cornstarch mixture. The solid
cornstarch acts like a crowd of people. Pressing your finger slowly into the mixture allows the
cornstarch to move out of the way, but striking the mixture quickly doesn't allow the solid
cornstarch particles to slide past each other and move out of the way of your finger.

We use the term viscosity to describe a liquids resistance to flow. Water, which has a
low viscosity, flows easily. Honey, at room temperature, has a higher viscosity and flows more
slowly than water. If you warm honey up, its viscosity drops and it flows more easily. Most fluids
behave like water and honey, in that their viscosity depends only on temperature. We call such
fluids Newtonian Fluids since Isaac Newton first described their behavior (when he wasnt
discovering the laws of gravity or developing Calculus). The cornstarch mixture you made is called
a Non-Newtonian Fluid because its viscosity depends on the force applied to the liquid or how
fast an object is moving through the liquid.
Other examples of non-Newtonian fluids include ketchup, silly putty, and quicksand.
Quicksand is like the cornstarch mixture: if you struggle to escape quicksand, you apply pressure
to it and it becomes hard, making it more difficult to escape. The recommended way to escape
quicksand is to slowly move toward solid ground; you might also lie down on it, thus distributing
your weight over a wider area and reducing the pressure. Ketchup is the opposite: its viscosity
decreases under pressure. This is why shaking a bottle of ketchup makes it easier to pour.

Questions: Answer in complete sentences on a separate sheet of lined paper.

Please skip a line in between each answer and underline the part of each
answer that is not part of the original question.
1.

Summarize/explain: 1) What you did in this lab; and 2) Your observations of

what happened and why. *If absent, you may skip this question.

2.

What is the main difference between a Newtonian Fluid and a Non-Newtonian

Fluid?

3.

What happened to the Cornstarch Goo when you squeezed it and relaxed it in
the palm of your hand? *when squeezed it hardened, when relaxed it flowed

4.

Compare and contrast the lithosphere and asthenosphere. What is one way
they are similar and what is one way they are different?

5.

Explain one way that Cornstarch Goo is similar to the Asthenosphere.

6.

What does it mean if something has Plasticity?

7.

What is viscosity? What has a higher viscosity, water or honey?

8.

What happens to the viscosity of honey when it is heated?

9.

Ketchup is also a Non-Newtonian fluid, but it is different than Cornstarch Goo.

How is it different?

10.

Why would someone who tried to run across a tub of Cornstarch Goo make it
across, but someone who tried to walk across would sink?