Walking on custard
In this activity, students watch the Brainiac video Jon Tickle walks on custard on YouTube to learn more about non-Newtonian fluids at work. The activity includes a number of strategies to deepen student interaction with video content.
Oobleck
A cornflour and water mixture – is a non-Newtonian fluid.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
discuss the differences between Newtonian fluids (‘normal liquids’) and non-Newtonian fluids
explain the scientific meanings of stress and strain as they relate to fluids
discuss how non-Newtonian fluids change their viscosity or flow behaviour under stress
explain why Jon Tickle is able to walk on custard but not on water.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
background information for teachers
teacher instructions
student instructions.
Related content
Non-Newtonian fluids change their viscosity or flow behaviour under stress as explained in the article Non-Newtonian fluids.
Videos are a useful media to demonstrate aspects that cannot be recreated in the classroom. The article Using videos in the classroom provides a number of strategies that assist students to become more actively involved with the video.
Activity ideas
Follow this with the activity Danger – quicksand!
Useful links
The YouTube video John Tickle walks on custard demonstrates the difference between a pool filled with water (a Newtonian fluid) and a pool filled with cornflour-based custard (a non-Newtonian fluid).
