Chemistry - Materials: Fibres

In this MEL Academy lesson your children will:

• learn the structure of textiles
• test materials for hydrophilicity
• colour textiles

Lesson time

11:00am	PST	(San Francisco, Seattle, ...)
12:00pm	MST	(Phoenix, Denver, ...)
1:00pm	CST	(Chicago, Houston, ...)
2:00pm	EST	(New York, Toronto, ...)
7:00pm	GMT	(London, ...)

Lesson duration: 45-55 minutes.

Prepare in advance

In this lesson, we will conduct several DIY experiments. Prepare in advance household materials shown below.

  pieces of fabric: cotton, silk, wool, acrylic, polyester (20+ cm squared each)
  hand lens 4Х or more magnification
  access to hot and cold water
  vegetable oil
  5 x glasses + spoon
  blueberries (fresh or jam)
  turmeric powder
  sliced spinach
  sliced beetroot
  shoe or clothes waterproofing spray
  tweezers
  2 x shallow glass basin / plastic bowl
  syringe / a pipette
  scissors
  A4 white card x 4
  1 x small white cotton Handkerchief
  String
  Pouring jug
  red wine (optional)
  electronic mass balance / weighing scales (optional)
  glycerol (optional)

MEL Experiment

If you are a subscriber of MEL Chemistry then you can conduct Tie Dye experiment from the Colorings chemistry set:

Tutor

This lesson is presented by Daniel Sullivan:

Daniel Sullivan is a hugely enthusiastic and experienced ex-head of science with over 20 years of teaching experience. He is now running a science teacher training company and is looking forward to engaging with students once again.