Science Fun

Here is a fun exercise with crystals – sugar crystals.  You can make your own rock candy that you can eat and have fun while doing so.  Children, please ask for help from your parents as part of this exercise is working with hot liquids and the kitchen stove. 

So, first gather up your supplies.  You will need a sauce pan (or glass bowl for microwave), 1 cup of water, 3 cups of sugar (use white, granulated sugar that you would have for the table), a clean glass jar, pencil, string (yarn or rough string works well), spoon or rod for stirring, clean coffee filter or paper towel, and food coloring – choose your favorite color. 

You will need to boil the water in the sauce pan (if you use the microwave, be sure to use a glass bowl and not a metal pan).  Stir in the sugar (maybe a teaspoon at a time) until it accumulates at the bottom and will no longer dissolve, even with more stirring.  This means you will have a saturated solution to grow your crystals.  If you desire some color to your crystal, add in the food coloring at this time – just a few drops. 

Next, take the pencil and balance it across the top of the glass container, lower the string into the center of the container – be sure the string does not touch the sides or the bottom of the container (you will want the end of the string to be just above the bottom without touching).  Tie the string securely around the pencil and be sure it stays in the center.  Now remove the pencil and string until after you pour in your solution. 

Add the sugar solution to the glass jar; fill it up to about a ½ inch from the top.  If there are un dissolved sugar crystals at the bottom of your mixing container, be sure these do not end up in your jar.  Next, place the pencil over the jar of sugar solution and lower it down so the string will settle into the solution – keep it in the center.  Now, set your concoction aside in an area where it will not get disturbed.  You can place the coffee filter or paper towel over the top to keep out any dust or dirt. 

Check back in a day or so and you should start to see crystals forming to the string.  Let the crystals continue to grow until they get to the size you wish or when they stop growing.  Pull them out of the liquid and allow to dry.  Now you can eat them or save and enjoy them! 

Now, we can’t get away quite yet – time for a real quick chemistry lesson to share with you the chemical names for sugar – ready?  Sucrose, saccahrose, beta-D-Fructofuranosyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside.  The formula for Sugar is C₁₂ H₂₂ O₁₁

Trackback URI | Comments RSS