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.

DIY Materials

  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:

Colorings

Tutor

This lesson is presented by Daniel Sullivan:

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.