Why does a rubber band stretch?
A rubber band stretches because it's made of long, curly, wiggly strands.
Pip’s answer
- A rubber band stretches because it's made of long, curly, wiggly strands.
- Those strands are scrunched up like tangled spaghetti! Hehe!
- When you pull, the strands straighten out, so the band gets longer.
- Ooh, let go gently and the strands curl back, so the band gets short again!
Try it together
Can you stretch your arms out wide, like a rubber band?
For grown-ups
Rubber is made of long, tangled chain molecules called polymers. Stretching straightens and aligns the chains. When released, the chains naturally return to their tangled, scrunched-up arrangement, so the band snaps back. This property is called elasticity.
Ask your child: What else can stretch and bounce back like a rubber band?
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