SUGAR CRYSTAL GROWING PROJECT

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1 MINI SCIENCE EXPO 2014 NAME.. GRADE SUGAR CRYSTAL GROWING PROJECT 1 P a g e

2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION One of the reasons that this science project is so popular is because it is relatively easy to do and there are fast results. It is easy to see the principles of evaporation and saturation with the sugar crystals. Discovering exactly how sugar crystals grow is a fun and exciting project. There are several different parts to the crystal-making process, and there are also two different ways that the crystals can be formed. There is a faster way and a slower way. Though they are the same, the faster way simulates what happens in the slow way in a much quicker manner. Saturating the Water The basic principle behind growing sugar crystals is to saturate the water with sugar to the point where the water can no longer contain all of the sugar molecules. When this happens, if given the right conditions, the sugar will come out of the water, forming crystals. This can either happen through over-saturation or through evaporation. Hot and Cold Principles When a liquid is hot, it can contain more molecules than when it is cold. This is because when the molecules are heated, they move around more, making room for more molecules. When the molecules freeze, they slow down and expand, making less room inside a solution for foreign materials. When making a sugar solution designed to make crystals, completely saturate hot water with sugar until no more can dissolve. This makes it possible for the crystals to grow when the water cools. The Importance of Time Even when a water solution has been saturated with sugar, it still takes time for crystals to form. Usually it takes about three weeks to get a good number of crystals. When using the evaporation method of making crystals, it can take even longer than that. The evaporation method of making crystals is the same way that mineral crystals are formed in nature. The water slowly evaporates over time and the mineral, or in this case sugar, deposits are left in a crystal formation. 2 P a g e

3 How Crystals Form Usually when growing sugar crystals you need to give the crystals something on which to form. This is generally a string suspended above and through the sugar solution. The reason that it is necessary to have the string is so that the crystals form faster and in a way that makes them easier to view. The string acts like a guide for where the crystals should form. Why Evaporation is Necessary Evaporation is necessary for crystals to form because if the water stayed, then the crystals would never form because they would be absorbed into the water. The evaporation causes the crystals to slowly form as the water leaves the container that the sugar is in. Read more: How Does a Sugar Crystal Grow? ehow.com NB: Left undisturbed in the proper conditions, sugar will form cubed and hexagonal patterns. You can use ordinary sugar as the base for an interesting expo. 3 P a g e

4 WRITING YOUR MINI PROJECT TITLE: HYPOTHESIS: Give a theoretical answer to the problem of your project. What result or conclusion do you expect at the end of the experiment or investigation before you do any testing? AIM:. EXPERIMENT: Design two experiments under identical conditions (controlled variables) except that the solutions are at either (Independent variables): i) Different temperatures Cold vs Hot or ii) White sugar vs Brown sugar or iii) Distilled Water vs Tap water. Choose only ONE OPTION from the above list and follow the instructions on page 5 and make sure they suit the independent variable chosen. MY CHOICE: 4 P a g e

5 Instructions 1 Wash a glass jar with warm, soapy water. Any food residue can affect the outcome of the experiment, clean the glass jar thoroughly. 2 Tie a piece of cotton string around the center of a butter knife/stick/pen/pencil etc. Rest it on top of the lid of the jar, allowing the cotton string to fall freely into the center of the jar. 3 Cut the string with sharp scissors so that it hangs approximately 1 / 2 way from the bottom of the jar into the solution. 4 Bring a cup of water to a boil in a container, and then remove it from the heat. 5 Slowly add--spoonful by spoonful--the sugar. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly mix in each spoonful, until it dissolves, before adding the next. Continue adding sugar until the water becomes so saturated, no more sugar will dissolve in it. 6 Remove the string from the glass jar and pour in the sugar solution. Rest the butter knife/stick/pen/pencil on top of the jar, allowing the string to dangle in the sugary liquid. 7 Set the glass jar in an area where it will remain undisturbed. Check the jar every day to see how the sugar crystals have grown on the string. The crystal should be complete enough to eat in seven days. 8 Write all the observations and take pictures of your experiment every two days. Measure the size of the crystal each day and record in a table and then draw a line graph using the data collected. Read more: How to Grow Sugar Crystals for a Science Project ehow.com Accessed August P a g e

6 A. Diagram of the crystals at the start of the investigation: Draw the design of your experiment in the spaces provided below. Scientific diagrams must be clearly labeled with headings given. EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Eg Saturated solution(in hot) CONTROLLED GROUP Saturated solution(in cold) 6 P a g e

7 B. Observation: This involves data collected and analysis. You must include all the observations made each day in both experiments. Write an estimate size of the crystal each time you observe. Day 1 Date Day 3 Date:.. 7 P a g e

8 Day 5 Date: Day 7 Date.. 8 P a g e

9 Day 9 Date Day 11 Date. 9 P a g e

10 Day 13 Date. Day 15 Date.. 10 P a g e

11 Day 17 Date. Day 19 Date. 11 P a g e

12 Day 21 Date Day 23 Date 12 P a g e

13 C. Manipulation and Data Analysis Note: You have to determine the variable you have chosen and write in the appropriate row. Day Variables Draw a line graph to demonstrate how your crystals developed and explain the differences between the two conditions. You can use a computer graph or use the graph paper provided on page P a g e

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15 Answer the following questions i) Compare the shapes of your 2 graphs ii) Give a possible scientific reason why the shapes of the graphs are different. iii) Does your experiment support your hypothesis data? iv) Do you reject or accept your hypothesis? 15 P a g e

16 D. Conclusion E. Bibliography Write down at least 5 references/bibliography ie. books, internet sites, magazines, interviews that you used in your research. 16 P a g e

17 RUBRIC NOT ACHIEVED Criteria 0-2 Very little or No effort. Collecting data Hypothesis Explained Followed Instructions Bibliography/references Neatness Graph correctly done with the entire axis labeled. PARTIALLY ACHIEVED 3-4 Satisfactory but need more input. OUTSTANDING 5 Complete and no improvement required TOTAL 30 TEACHER COMMENT 17 P a g e