[youngchemist]

I'm experimenting with glue polymers in our kitchen. So far we've made "flubber" with glue and borax solutions, and super-bounce balls with epsom salts and glue (some glycerin helps too). We are trying to figure out what the reaction was but can't figure out what is in Elmer's glue.

So far we looked up Elmers.com, checked the bottle and the MSDS. We know that epsom salt is MGSO4, borax is sodium tetraborate, and we know that glue is a polymer.

1. What is the main reacting ingredient in the glue?
2. Does sodium tetraborate mean there are 4 borons on the molecule?