Water beads – Orbeez science!

Orbeez in water:

Take some Orbeez balls and measure their diameter with a ruler.

Put the balls in a glass of warm water. After two hours, take out the balls and measure their diameter again. Repeat after eight hours or more.

The orbeez are made of a material that is able to bind a large amount of water, so when we add the water the polymer begins to bind the water to it and swell like a sponge, due to the nature of the material the process takes several hours, there are other polymers that absorb water very quickly and there are those that do not absorb water at all.

Orbeez Swelling in Different Temperatures:

Place Clear Orbeez in containers with water at varying temperatures (hot, cold, room temperature) to check how temperature affects the rate of swelling, demonstrating the effect of kinetic energy on molecular motion.

Temperature can affect absorption rates. Generally, higher temperatures can increase the rate of absorption as the molecules in the liquid have more kinetic energy and move more freely. Lower temperatures can slow down the absorption process.

Absorption Rates in Different Liquids:

Compare the absorption rates of Clear Orbeez in various liquids (water, oil, vinegar, juice, etc.)

The absorption rate of Clear Orbeez can vary depending on the chemical compatibility between the superabsorbent polymer material of the Orbeez and the liquid they are placed in. Some liquids may have chemical properties that allow them to interact more readily with the polymer, while others may not. Another thing that effects absorption is viscosity. Viscosity refers to a liquid’s resistance to flow. Liquids with higher viscosity, like honey or syrup, may have a slower absorption rate compared to thinner liquids like water. This is because it takes more time for the polymer material to draw in the thicker, more viscous liquid.

Orbeez in different solutions:

put orbeez in tap water and
in solutions with different salt concentrations (one teaspoon, three teaspoons, five teaspoons) check if there is a difference in size between the growing orbeez.

The rate at which Orbeez absorb liquids is influenced by osmotic pressure. Osmosis is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration. The presence of solutes in a liquid affects the rate at which water is drawn into the Orbeez. Liquids with higher solute concentrations may slow down the absorption rate as they create a higher osmotic pressure. The concentration of the liquid can also impact the absorption rate. A higher concentration of a solute in a liquid can slow down the absorption because it reduces the concentration gradient driving osmosis.

Colored orbeez:

put orbeez in a glass of colored water, watch them grow and catch color.The polymer can absorb and hold onto water. When the water contains dissolved color molecules or pigments, it can also absorb some of the color molecules in the water.6.     Milk orbeez: put orbeez in a glass of milk. Will they grow and turn white?The reason why the balls remained transparent and were not white lies in the fact that the white color of the milk comes from protein and fat particles that float in the liquid, these particles are too large and cannot penetrate the dense network formed by the polymer chains. Experimenting with grown orbeez:

Breaking orbeez:

Look at your orbeez. What would happen if you squeeze them? Will the pop? Or break?

Orbeez break instead of popping because they are made of a superabsorbent polymer that absorbs and retains water, causing them to expand and become a gel-like substance. They do not contain air pressure like balloons and cannot stretch or bounce back when subjected to external pressure or impact, leading to their tendency to break, or burst under mechanical stress.

Checking orbeez:

Look and feel your orbeez. How do they feel? Are they wet or dry? Can you dry them up? Are they hard or squishy? Try bouncing them on the table, do they bounce?

Orbeez feel wet because they absorb and retain water, and they bounce because of the elasticity of the superabsorbent polymer material. These properties make them fun and tactile for sensory play and exploration.

Orbeez Osmosis:

Measure the size of your orbeez with a ruler. Now, put them in salt water and wait for an hour, take the orbeez out and measure their dimensions again.

Orbeez shrink in saltwater due to osmosis, where water moves out of the Orbeez to the hypertonic saltwater, resulting in a loss of water and a reduction in the size of the Orbeez. This phenomenon illustrates the effects of osmotic pressure and the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane when different solute concentrations are present.

Float or sink:

put orbeez in a glass of salt water. Why do they float?

The gel balls float in salt water because they are less dense than salt water. The degree of density of the material determines its buoyancy. As a substance is less dense, it is also less heavy and therefore it floats. The salt enters the spaces between the water particles and increases their density and the gel balls, which have a density very similar to normal water, float on the surface of the denser salt water.

Disappearing orbeez:

put some ready orbeez in a glass pf water. Why do they disappear?

The superabsorbent polymer material used in Orbeez is nearly transparent, and its refractive index is similar to that of water. This means that light passes through both the Orbeez and the absorbed water without significant bending or scattering, making the Orbeez and water appear as a single, translucent entity.

Hide and seek:

Take a plastic toy and put it in a clear glass full of clear orbeez. Add water to cover the orbeez and see the toy reveal.

Air and water (the gel balls) have different refractive indexes so when the light passes through the balls it passes between the air and the Orbeez and back to the air. Every time the light passes from one material to another, it refracts and changes its direction, which is why it is impossible to see the toy clearly. The balls are made of 99% water and have the same refractive index as water so When we fill the cup with water, the air pockets disappear, and the toy is revealed.

Freezing Orbeez:

Freeze Clear Orbeez and then observe what happens when the warmup.

freezing Orbeez results in temporary hardening, shrinking, and changes in their appearance due to the freezing of water within the beads.

Upside-down:

Take one ball and look through it. Do you see something strange?

When you look through a spherical object like a Clear Orbeez, the curved surface acts as a lens, causing light rays to bend and converge. This convergence creates an inverted image, appearing upside down relative to the original object. This optical phenomenon occurs because of how light refracts as it passes through the curved surface. It’s like what happens with cameras and telescopes.

Magnifying glass:

take a piece of paper and write your name on it. Try to write your name as small as you can. Now take one orbeez ball and put it on top of your name.

The spherical shape of the gel balls bends the light and concentrates it, thus causing the image to be enlarged like a magnifying glass. A magnifying glass is usually a plastic or glass lens, but lenses can be made from any transparent material and the gel ball is also a type of lens.

Orbeez and salt:

put some water beads in a bowl. Cover them with salt and watch what happens.

When you cover Orbeez with salt, they shrink and crack. This happens because salt draws water out of the Orbeez through a process called osmosis, leading to dehydration and a change in texture.

Orbeez and Music:

Place Clear Orbeez on a speaker and play different frequencies of music to observe how they react to vibrations.

Placing Orbeez on a speaker results in their movement and dancing in response to the vibrations and sound waves produced by the speaker. This effect is due to the transmission of vibrations through the solid surface of the speaker and the resonant properties of the water beads, creating a unique interaction between sound and motion.

Orbeez and Evaporation Rates:

Place Clear Orbeez in the sun. Check how long it takes them to shrink back to their original size.

The orbeez contain water inside them like a sponge, if we leave the ball out of the water the water will evaporate, and the ball will dry out and shrink back. Two factors can speed up evaporation: heat and wind. Therefore, if we leave the ball in the hot sun and in the open air, it will dry faster than in a shaded and closed place.

Just for fun: stress ball with orbeez:

Take a balloon and fill it up with orbeez. Try to squeeze in as many orbeez as you can. Tie the balloon, and you got a stress relief ball you can squeeze and squish.