12 My work: Supplementary info for hydrophobicity activity

Hydrophobicity of Fabrics used in Sneakers Supplementary Information

Directions for hydrophobic materials activity (Vinyl vs. Cotton)

  1. Introduce the difference of hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials, provide students with a cotton round, vinyl swatch, pipette, and container with water.
  2. Ask students to guess which of the materials is hydrophilic vs. hydrophobic
  3. Allow students to either prove or disprove their guess by taking a pipette and placing a few drops of water on each material. Ask students to state their observations.
  4. Next have students confirm their observations by taking a matching set of temporary tattoos have students place one on the cotton round and the other on the vinyl swatch.
  5. Allow students to take a pipette filled with water and place a few drops on each surface. The tattoo should stick to the vinyl surface and not to the cotton round.
  6. Note: Temporary tattoos are hydrophobic in nature and in the presence of water two hydrophobic materials will stick to one another. Ask students to again state and record their observations.
  7. Next have students prepare a larger swatch of vinyl fabric using the cotton round and temporary tattoos to decorate and customize  to incorporate into their STEAM sneaker artwork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Definitions: Connection to activity:
Hydrophobicity: The relationship between a material/surface and water The hydrophobicity of the two materials vinyl and cotton will allow students to distinguish them.
Hydrophilic: “hydro-” (water) and “-phile” (love)

A surface that has a high affinity to water or is easily wet by water

 Hydrophilic materials, such as cotton rounds, will absorb the water (pores also are variable). Sneakers that are canvas material are mainly composed of cotton fibers (Ex. Vans, Converse). These shoes are not waterproof.
Hydrophobic: “hydro-” (water) and “-phobia” (fear)

Used to describe a surface with low affinity to water or repel water

 Materials such as vinyl, leather, and suedes are extremely hydrophobic and will repel water. Sneakers that are made with these materials are classified as “waterproof” (Ex. Nike, FILA, HOKA)
Polymer: any of a class of natural or synthetic substances composed of very large molecules, called macromolecules, that are multiples of simpler chemical units called monomers The polymers used in the ink for the tattoos are hydrophobic. When released from silicone transfer paper, this migrates toward the hydrophobic surface of the vinyl.
Water: Water is a chemical compound consisting of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom Water is used as an indicator to measure how hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic a coated surface is.

 

Note: Videos and pictures of activity will be available in an updated version

 

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The Chemistry of Shoe Game: Using Sneaker Culture to Teach Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics (STEAM) Copyright © by Jakyra Simpson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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