How Wet Can a Diaper Get STEM Challenge

​It wasn’t until the invention of Waterlock, made from a chemical called sodium polyacrylate, that disposable diapers became popular. These days, Waterlock is woven into disposable diapers to help them absorb an incredible about of urine.

As an engineered polymer molecule, Waterlock can absorb an amazing 700 times its own weight in water. Because of this, it is called a superabsorber. As it absorbs particles of water, it binds them up in gel form so that the water is no longer able to flow freely.

In this STEM Challenge, your task is to determine the volume of water a diaper can absorb before it becomes saturated. While this capacity is quite incredible and unlike any natural substance on the planet, it can be determined if you are careful and detailed in your measurement and calculations.

Key Concepts: matter, molecules, mixtures, polymers, superabsorber, chemical and physical changes.