sugar crystal science experiment

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Sugar Crystal Experiment

This is an absolutely sweet science experiment! Grow sugar crystals and make homemade rock candy with this simple chemistry experiment. We can show you how to set up a science fair project to go along with it! Growing sugar crystals is a fun and easy science experiment for kids. .

Incredible Edible Science

Who doesn’t love science you can eat ? Grow sugar crystals for tasty chemistry , and the kids will have a blast learning all about crystals!

Crystal science has fascinated humans for thousands of years. Many of our precious gemstones are formations of crystal. Check out other crystal science projects like our salt crystals and borax crystals. You can also make edible rock candy geodes .

This sugar crystal experiment uses the same saturation principles and makes a saturated solution to form the crystals. Growing crystals is fun for kids and teaches them about solutions, molecular bonds, patterns, and energy. All from two ingredients: sugar and water!

Oh, and of course, you can incorporate it into a geology lesson , too!

💡 You can eat these crystals when you are done growing them, making it even more fun!

How to Grow Sugar Crystals

Why do we call chemistry experiments like this kitchen science ? It is because all the needed supplies come straight out of the kitchen. Easy!

Note: You will need to set aside 8+ days to complete this sugar crystal experiment.

• 1 cup water
• 4 cups sugar
• Edible glitter
• Food coloring

Also check out more fun ideas for mason jar science! Once you set up your sugar crystal experiment, try a few more quick science in a jar ideas!

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR CRYSTALS

STEP 1. The day before starting your sugar crystal experiment, cut a piece of string a little longer than your jars. Tie one end of the string to a straw. Tie a knot in the other end.

Get the strings wet and coat them in sugar. Let them dry overnight.

STEP 2.   Add four cups of sugar and one cup of water to a saucepan the following day and heat until boiling. Heating the water to dissolve the sugar is the key to making your supersaturated solution.

Create the sugar solution: Heat water in a saucepan until it just begins to boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add granulated sugar to the hot water, stirring continuously, until no more sugar dissolves. Keep adding sugar and stirring until you see some sugar settling at the bottom of the saucepan without dissolving further. This indicates that you have a saturated solution.

STEP 3. Pour your sugar mixture into the jars. Add edible food coloring to each jar and add some edible glitter.

STEP 4. Lower the string into the jar and place the jars in a safe place. Leave the sugar crystals to form for at least a week.

SUGAR CRYSTALS: DAY 8

Once the sugar crystals are as big as you want them, remove them from the sugar solution. Lay them on a paper towel or plate and let them dry for several hours.

Inspect the sugar crystals with a magnifying glass or microscope when they are dry . How are the crystals similar? How are they different? What can you see in the microscope or with a magnifying glass that you can’t see with your eyes?

Fabulous, edible science is at your fingertips when you explore science in the kitchen with your kids!

FREE Geology Activities Guide

Just because it’s food or candy doesn’t mean you can’t apply the scientific method .

Sugar Crystal Science Fair Projects

Science projects are an excellent way for older kids to show what they know about science. They can also be used in various environments, including classrooms, homeschooling, clubs, and groups.

💡 Kids can take everything they have learned about using the scientific method , stating a hypothesis, creating variables , and analyzing and presenting data.

Want to turn this sugar crystals experiment into a cool sugar crystallization science project? Check out these helpful resources below. Take a look at the science fair project outline below to get started.

• Science Project Tips From A Teacher
• Science Fair Board Ideas
• Easy Science Fair Projects

Sample Science Procedure to Grow Sugar Crystals:

• Begin the project by explaining what crystals are and the process of crystallization. Take a look at different examples of sugar crystals to learn more.
• Formulate a hypothesis. For example, “I predict that crystals will grow faster/bigger in a solution with more sugar.”
• Prepare the different containers for growing crystals according to the steps above.
• Encourage kids to set up multiple containers with different variables to test.
• a. Vary the sugar concentration in the solution (e.g., 1 cup sugar:1 cup water, 1 cup sugar:1/2 cup water, etc.).
• b. Compare different types of sugar (granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar).
• c. Test the effect of temperature by placing one container in the fridge and another in a warm place. d. Investigate the impact of time by checking the crystals’ growth at regular intervals (e.g., every day for a week).
• Have the kids observe the containers regularly and record them in a notebook. They should note changes in crystal size, shape, and formation patterns. Use our free science fair pack to help!
• Help the kids analyze their results and draw conclusions based on their observations.
• Discuss whether their hypotheses were supported and if they noticed any unexpected findings.
• Prepare a display board for the science fair, showcasing the experiment’s steps, observations, and results.

This project provides an excellent opportunity for kids to learn about the scientific method, observation, and the fascinating world of crystal formation while enjoying some sweet treats!

More Fun Edible Experiments

See if you can turn one of these science experiments into a science fair project!

• Strawberry DNA Extraction (not edible, but a great project)
• Make Edible Geodes
• Fizzing Lemonade
• Maple Syrup Snow Candy
• Homemade Butter
• Ice Cream In A Bag

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How to Make Rock Candy or Sugar Crystals

Sugar crystals are called rock candy because these hard crystals are edible. Sugar (sucrose) crystals are one of the few types of crystals you can grow and eat. You can eat the natural clear crystals or you can color and flavor them.

Rock Candy Materials

You only need a few common kitchen materials for this crystal project:

• 3 cups sugar (sucrose)
• 1 cup boiling water
• food coloring (optional)
• flavoring (optional — good choices include cherry, peppermint, and cinnamon)
• clean glass or plastic jar
• wooden skewer or cotton string

You don’t need string or a skewer to grow sugar crystals, but they are good support structures for making rock candy sticks. Crystals also grow on pipe cleaners, but they probably aren’t food-friendly. The crystals also grow on the bottom and sides of their container, forming a confection that is known as Misri in India and Iran.

You can use different kinds of sugar, but avoid powdered sugar because it often contains anti-caking agents. Anti-caking agents don’t dissolve, so the tiny particles attract crystal growth. While this sounds like a good things, it means you’ll get a mass of small crystals rather than large crystals.

Grow Sugar Crystals

The procedure is really easy.

• Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water. Heat the sugar solution on the stove, or in the microwave if you have trouble getting the sugar to dissolve. Once the sugar dissolves, remove it from heat. If you keep heating it, it hardens and burns.
• Add a few drops of food coloring and flavor, if desired.
• Let the solution cool a bit before pouring it into your jar. You don’t want to get burned!
• Pour the sugar solution into a jar. Place a wooden skewer into the jar or else hang a string into the middle of the jar, tied to a pencil or butter knife.
• Place the container somewhere it won’t be disturbed. If you like, cover the jar with a paper towel or coffee filter to allow evaporation while keeping the crystal solution clean.
• It takes a few days to get good crystal growth. If you see crystals forming on the top of the jar, you can remove them and eat them. If you leave them, these crystals will compete with your stick or string for sugar and will reduce the size of your crystals.
• Remove the crystals and enjoy them! If you want to store the crystals before eating them, keep them in an airtight container so humidity in the air won’t make the rock candy sticky.

If you enjoyed growing sugar crystals, how about trying another easy crystal-growing project ?

How Long Does It Take to Grow Sugar Crystals?

Sugar crystals may appear overnight or it may take several days (weeks) for growth. Sugar crystal growth depends on three main factors:

• Solution Concentration : Crystals don’t start growing until you have a saturated solution , where no more sugar dissolves in the water. Whether or not the liquid is saturated depends on the amount of sugar in the water and the temperature. If you aren’t seeing crystal growth, try lowering the temperature. Refrigeration might do the trick!
• Temperature : Temperature determines when crystals start growing and how big they are. Slow cooling resulting in slower growth, but larger crystal formation. Similarly, quick cooling promotes crystal growth, but you get a mass of smaller crystals. Ideally, slowly cool the hot sugar water down to room temperature (or lower). Quick cooling doesn’t yield great results. Putting the liquid in a window causes temperature fluctuations, so crystals dissolve when it’s warm and form when it’s cool. Avoid the window.
• Humidity : Humid air contributes water to the liquid and slows crystal growth. Dry air evaporates water and aids crystal growth. If you aren’t seeing crystals, try improving air circulation or reducing humidity. The easiest solution is turning on a fan.

About Sugar Crystals

The white granular sugar you buy at the store is sucrose (C 12 H 22 O 11 ), which is a disaccharide consisting of glucose and fructose subunits. Raw sugar is usually golden or brown and contains some natural impurities, but still crystallizes. However, while pure sugar crystals are colorless, raw sugar crystals retain their color.

Sucrose contains covalent bonds and crystallizes using these bonds, too. The molecule crystalizes in the monoclinic space group. The resulting crystal is hard, brittle, and rigid. Examples of other crystals that contain covalent bonds are quartz and diamond.

• Beevers, C. A.; McDonald, T. R. R.; Robertson, J. H.; Stern, F. (1952). “The crystal structure of sucrose”. Acta Crystallogr . 5 (5): 689–90. doi: 10.1107/S0365110X52001908
• Hynes, R. C.; Le Page, Y. (1991). “Sucrose, a convenient test crystal for absolute structures”. Journal of Applied Crystallography . 24 (4): 352. doi: 10.1107/S0021889891002492
• Richardson, Tim (2002). Sweets: A History of Candy . Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-58234-229-0.

Sugar Crystals

(water, sugar, string, pencil, container)

• Boil about 1 ½ cup (400 ml) water.
• Add about ¾ cup (200 ml) of sugar to the water, and stir the solution well.
• Pour the solution into the jar. Make sure that the jar you selected can withstand the temperature (a glass should work).
• Suspend the string from a pencil.
• Submerge the string in the solution.

The sugar crystals will grow slowly on the string over a period of several days.  If you want the string to hang straight in the jar, tie a weight to the bottom of the string.

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“Sugar crystals” experiment

How to make a sugar candy at home

Kids will love this ex­per­i­ment! It’s the most de­li­cious ex­per­i­ment for grow­ing crys­tals.

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Ob­serve safe­ty rules when work­ing with heat­ing de­vices.

Warn­ing! Only un­der adults su­per­vi­sion.

Reagents and equip­ment:

• bam­boo sticks;
• food col­or­ing (any kind);
• pa­per clamp;
• fry­ing pan.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Pre­pare the seed for crys­tals : add sug­ar and wa­ter to a fry­ing pan in the ra­tio of 10:1 and heat un­til the sug­ar dis­solves com­plete­ly. Pour the thick syrup into a bowl and dip the bam­boo sticks in it, then sprin­kle plen­ty of sug­ar on them, so it sticks. Leave to dry for a few hours.

Pre­pare the so­lu­tion to grow the crys­tals: add sug­ar and wa­ter to a saucepan in the ra­tio of 3:1 and heat slow­ly un­til the sug­ar dis­solves com­plete­ly. Leave the syrup on the hot plate to cool for 15-20 min­utes. Pour the cooled syrup into glass­es and add food col­or­ing .

Im­merse the sticks ver­ti­cal­ly in the cen­ter of each glass of syrup. They must not touch the bot­tom of the glass, or the walls! Cov­er with foil and leave in a dark place. Two weeks lat­er beau­ti­ful sug­ar crys­tals will grow on the sticks.

Dozens of experiments you can do at home

One of the most exciting and ambitious home-chemistry educational projects The Royal Society of Chemistry

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How to Make Sugar Crystals?

Are you looking for ways to make sugar crystals? If yes, we can help you teach how to make sugar crystals using the materials easily available at home. Kids would enjoy performing experiments to make sugar crystals. This will help them learn about the science behind the formation of sugar crystals. Conducting science experiments for kids enables them to observe and analyze the changes to come up with logical conclusions. This is one of the best DIY science project ideas for kids in the school curriculum. 

Contents 

• Easy Science Projects: How to Make Sugar Crystals?
• Aim of the Project
• Materials Required

Benefits of Learning How to Make Sugar Crystals

Frequently asked questions on how to make sugar crystals.

Can you make sugar crystals at home? Yes, it is an extremely easy and fun experiment for kids. It is better if kids carry out this experiment under the supervision of elders to get accurate results. You can conduct science experiments for toddlers , preschoolers, kindergarten and elementary school kids by unfolding the magic of making beautiful sugar crystals in front of their eyes. You can check out how to make sugar crystals mentioned in this article. 

Easy Science Projects: How to Make Sugar Crystals? 

Have your children eaten rock candies? How do you make them? You can prepare them from the crystallization process. When the sugar syrup freezes into ice, it becomes sugar crystals. You can teach kids the process of supersaturation and crystallization, the mechanism behind sugar crystal formation, by conducting this simple experiment effectively. For that, you need nothing but materials easily found at home. Read on to find out the sugar crystallization process from the experiment given below. 

Aim of the Project 

The aim of this project is to perform an experiment and observe how sugar crystals are formed using the materials available at home under the supervision of elders. 

Materials Required 

• A cup of boiling water 
• Two cups of sugar
• A glass 
• A stick 
• A piece of thread
• A few drops of food coloring liquid
• An aluminum foil 
• Take a cup of hot boiling water and pour it into a glass. 
• Add two cups of sugar to the boiling water. 
• Add a few drops of food coloring liquid. 
• Stir it well until it dissolves completely. 
• Take a stick and tie a piece of thread in the center. 
• Keep the stick on the glass so that the three-fourths of the thread is dipped inside the sugar syrup.
• Cover the glass with aluminum foil, leaving some air to cool down the sugar syrup. 
• Keep the glass for a week without disturbing it. 
• Observe and record the changes after a week.

In this experiment, kids observe that the sugar crystals are formed around the thread dipped inside the sugar syrup. When the temperature decreases, the sugar comes out of the solution to form crystals. The difference in the ratio of solute and solvent creates supersaturation of the solution. 

Also, explore how to separate salt and water .  

The benefits of learning the sugar crystallization process for kids are mentioned below. 

• It helps children understand the science behind the formation of sugar crystals. 
• It creates interest among children to perform experiments and observe how sugar crystals are made.
• It develops observational, problem-solving and analytical skills in children. 
• It motivates children to follow guidelines or procedures to perform experiments systematically. 
• It helps children score good marks in science subjects. 
• It teaches children to plan and execute experiments in an organized manner. 
• It nurtures creativity and curiosity among children to learn something new. 
• It enables children to observe and come up with logical conclusions for the experiment they are performing. 

To know more information, explore science games for kids , STEM activities for kids in the kids learning section at Osmo.

How to make sugar crystals?

You can conduct an experiment for kids to see the formation of sugar crystals using the material available at home by following the procedure on how to make sugar crystals mentioned in this article.

What are the benefits of learning how to make sugar crystals?

The benefits of learning how to make sugar crystals for kids are that it helps them learn the scientific concept behind the formation of crystals by performing simple experiments at home. Besides this, it develops curiosity to know the science behind crystal formation and observational skills at the same time.

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Home » Articles » STEM » STEM Science » How to make Sugar Crystals

How to make Sugar Crystals

Everyone tried to make homemade candy at some point. but have you ever tried to make rock candy on a stick they are not only delicious, but a great way to learn some chemistry. today we will show you how to grow your own sugar crystals. tasty science, article contents.

What are Crystals and how do they form?

Crystals are really special and unique material. They are solid material that forms from molecules that are arranged in exact and repeating patterns. Because of that, crystals can form all sorts of unique patterns – like a snowflake for an example. Each snowflake is unique and we will never find 2 exactly the same.

In the natural environment, crystals grow in one of three ways: from solution , from a melt, and from the vapor.

Crystals most commonly form from solution when liquids cool and start to harden. Like in our snowflake example. Molecules in liquid are getting together in an attempt to become stable. Also, liquid molecules are grouping in a repeating and uniform pattern which results in crystal formation. The process of crystal formation is called crystallization .

Most known crystals are rock crystals like diamonds, rubies, and emeralds and they form from a melt. They form from volcanoes when liquid magma cools. If magma cools slow enough, it will result in crystals forming. You can learn more about volcanoes in the article How to make a homemade Volcano .

Crystals can also form from evaporation . As the liquid evaporates slowly, it can form crystal formations. Salt crystals are the best example of crystallization when saltwater evaporates.

All crystals grow in a three-stage process : nucleation , growth , and termination .

• The first stage, called nucleation is when molecules are getting together and form a stable, subatomic structure in a repeating, uniform pattern.
• The second stage, called the growth stage is when more molecules are attracted and added to already formed subatomic structure. Additional molecules are added in a repeating, orderly manner. That is why crystals get their most recognizable feature – symmetry .
• The final stage, called termination is where the growth stops. Since there is no limit on how big crystal can grow, this stage is usually reached when there are no additional molecules that are attracted to the crystal and when there is no room for the crystal to expand.

As we already mentioned, there is no limit on how big a crystal can grow. The largest crystal ever found is beryl from Malakialina found in Madagascar. It is 18 meters long and more than 3 meters wide and weighs 380 tons. But crystal formation can take a long time. Even the growth rate of 2 millimeters per day means that hundreds of molecule layers must be laid down each second on the crystal surface. There is an enormous number of molecules required for crystal growth.

The science behind Sugar Crystals

How do we go from granulated sugar to sugar crystals? Well, sugar crystals form when molecules in sugar arrange themselves in a pattern and that happens when there is a lot of them in the small area. We call that process nucleation .

To achieve that, we need a solvent – water in our case, and a solute (granulated sugar). Dissolving solute in the solvent gives us a solution that can be more or less saturated. We want our solution to be saturated , so we will dissolve as much sugar as possible. The heat helps with the dissolving process, which means we can use even more sugar.

When we cool down our liquid it becomes supersaturated because now it holds the much greater concentration of sugar than water. In the supersaturated solution, we have more solute than solvent which means that the solution is unstable . Molecules collide with each other more frequently and that makes them stick together. With time, as more water evaporates, more and more molecules end up sticking together and we perceive that as a growth of our sugar crystal.

In the end, your rock candy is made by almost a quadrillion (10^15) molecules!

Materials needed for Sugar Crystals Experiment

• Funnel (optional)
• A couple of Jars
• Food Colors
• Wooden sticks
• Clothespins

Instructions for conducting an experiment

We have a video at the beginning of the article for a step by step instructions on how to conduct the sugar crystals experiment. Or you can read further for a detailed, step by step explanation of the whole process.

• Measure the sugar so the ratio is 1.5 cups of sugar on 1 cup of water.
• Add water to the pot and let it boil.
• When it boils, start pouring sugar. Let it dissolve completely before adding the next batch.
• Repeat until all sugar is gone. The solution should be thick at this point. Leave it to cool down for 15 minutes.
• Add some sugar on the plate. Take wooden sticks and soak it in the water at one end (that’s where the sugar crystals will form). After that rub that soaked part into the sugar. Leave it to dry for 30 minutes.
• Add sugary mixture into the jars. You can optionally add some food colors into jars so that crystals are colored.
• Now we need to put our sticks into the jars. We need to stabilize them so we will use clothespins. Connect two clothespins and pass the stick through the middle. Put the stick into the jar (the part which you coated in sugar earlier down) but don’t let it touch the bottom. Do this for all sticks/jars you have.
•  Leave the jars for 2 weeks. As time passes the crystals will grow.
• When you decide to take them out, first use something to break the upper layer (it will also be solid).
• Our homemade hard candy is done! Enjoy it! 🙂

What will you develop and learn making Sugar Crystals

• Chemistry Principles
• How to conduct an experiment, use the scientific method and perform observations
• Measuring and proportions
• How to make homemade hard candy and how to grow your own crystals

We hope you will enjoy this simple and fun kitchen experiment. It’s really tasty science! Sugar crystals are amazing to watch, so if you don’t want to eat them, you can use them as a decoration.

If you crave more kitchen experiments you can try How to make Homemade Playdough , How to make Homemade Plastic or Gummy Bear Osmosis Experiment .

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Rock Candy Recipe

December 12, 2011 By Emma Vanstone 26 Comments

The first thing I have to say about this activity is that it’s sticky, messy and doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s pretty amazing. Our rock candy recipe has been perfected from many, many attempts to get it to work, so hopefully, we’ve done most of the hard work for you.

The first time we tried, nothing grew at all as the solution wasn’t concentrated enough, the second time, we made it too concentrated, and the whole solution crystallised. The third time it worked!!

3 cups of caster sugar

1 cup of water

A lolly stick, wooden stick or circle of wire/string

Some sparkles  and/or food colouring ( optional )

How to make your own rock candy

Heat the water in a pan and add the sugar slowly, stirring continuously.

Keep adding sugar until no more will dissolve, and then remove the heat and leave to cool for about 5 minutes. If you can get a bit more sugar to dissolve, then that’s a good thing. You want a saturated solution .

Pour the solution into a glass jar and suspend the lolly stick, we used some sellotape to hold it in place. Don’t let it touch the bottom or the sides of the jar.

Alternatively, you could tie some string to a pencil and rest the pencil on top of the jar with the string hanging in the jar.

You should see crystals start to form after a few days.

We made a lolly and a circle to hang on the Christmas tree. I was a bit disappointed with the circle, but we will be trying again with a star!

Why does sugar crystallise?

A crystal is a solid material with a naturally geometrically regular form. Some take millions of years to form, such as diamonds. The sugar crystals we made above take just a few days.

Most minerals dissolved in water will form crystals given enough time and space. The shape of the crystal formed depends on the mineral’s molecule shape.

In the case of our sugar crystals, there are two processes at work.

Evaporation – the water evaporates slowly, meaning the solution becomes more saturated, so the sugar molecules come out of the solution and collect on the string/wire or stick.

Precipitation – the solution we made was very concentrated, which means there was too much solute to remain dissolved in the water, therefore it starts to precipitate.

What is a saturated solution?

A saturated solution is a solution that won’t dissolve any more solute at that temperature. Our water and sugar solution was saturated when no more sugar would dissolve.

What is a solute?

A solute is a solid being dissolved. When making rock candy , sugar is the solute, and water is the solvent .

What is a solvent?

This is the liquid the solute is being dissolved into.

What is a solution?

This is what we call a solute and solvent .

If you enjoyed this activity, you’ll love my other candy science experiments !

Last Updated on February 20, 2023 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

December 12, 2011 at 1:23 pm

This is amazing! such a genius idea!!!! I might even try and convince husband to give it a go…baby still too little for this.

December 14, 2011 at 9:40 pm

Fun for adults too!

December 12, 2011 at 1:29 pm

ooh I love this. Definitely going to try it with my little ones. Thanks for sharing. x

Thank you, good luck with it x

December 12, 2011 at 4:33 pm

wow how beautiful and magical. i guess xmas at your house will be a ‘bomb’, lol

December 12, 2011 at 6:15 pm

How cool is that?? Your kids must love being your kids!

December 14, 2011 at 9:39 pm

Ahhh, thank you. I do try hard. xx

December 12, 2011 at 8:31 pm

Too cool! We just read a book about these being the entry for a Science Fair! It’s called My Blue Ribbon Day (or The Blue Ribbon Day). We’ll definitely have to try these sometime!

December 12, 2011 at 8:54 pm

These are amazing!!

Thank you. xx

December 13, 2011 at 5:00 am

Awesome idea and for an ornament too!

December 14, 2011 at 9:38 pm

awww, thanks. xx

December 13, 2011 at 3:39 pm

That is really cool!

Thank you. x

December 15, 2011 at 5:10 am

Love this idea! My boys will have tons of fun with this. So glad I found your blog (through ABC & 123) – I’m a new follower.

December 15, 2011 at 9:17 am

So glad you liked it. x

December 16, 2011 at 6:05 am

this is so cool! I’d love you to add this to my What We Wore and Made Party over at http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/search/label/WWWMW

December 16, 2011 at 9:19 am

Hi! I think that this is just great! I would LOVE for you to stop in and link this up in my Homeschooling on the Cheap! Link up. It is fairly new and I post it every Thursday. IT stays up all week. I’m looking for ideas on things homeschoolers can do. This looks like something for sure!

Thank you, Kelli http://3boysandadog.com/deals/2011/homeschooling-on-the-cheap-12152011/

December 16, 2011 at 9:35 am

They look great, especially with the pink. I’m a very impatient person but still I might try to make this 😉

December 18, 2011 at 9:32 pm

We’ve had the worst time trying to grow sugar crystals! I’m glad you finally managed it 🙂

December 18, 2011 at 9:47 pm

This is amazing!! What a cool, cool activity!!! We are definitely going to be trying this!!! I am your newest follower! I’d love for you to follow me back, if you want to =) I also wanted to invite you to link up to TGIF Linky Party – http://livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/search/label/Linkey%20Parties – I know my readers would love this!! Merry Christmas, Beth

January 07, 2012 at 3:49 pm

My daughter approves of the one that looks like a bracelet!

Thanks for linking up to Science Sunday (yes I am this late on commenting).

November 28, 2012 at 4:31 pm

My kids have brought these home with the yoghurt pot and lollipop stick before.I’ll have to get them to try making a bracelet.

November 28, 2012 at 5:19 pm

Fantastic! What a perfect Christmas Science Craft.

Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

December 01, 2012 at 10:21 pm

My kids would be beyond excited to make their own candy. And this is such as simple recipe!

December 03, 2012 at 9:47 am

is it simple, although it did take us a few goes!

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Galaxy sugar crystal science experiment

Key points i covered in this post, materials required for the experiment, preparing the supersaturated sugar solution, setting up the crystallization process, monitoring crystal growth and troubleshooting, enhancing the “galaxy” effect, is there a guide for preserving and displaying galaxy sugar crystals.

• Dry crystals thoroughly in a warm, dry spot to prevent degradation.
• Seal coated crystals with an edible varnish, if available, to protect against moisture.
• Display crystals in a dry, cool area, away from direct sunlight to prevent melting.
• Consider presenting crystals on a dark background, which can accentuate the vibrant galactic colors and sparkles.
• For long-term preservation, store the sugar crystals in an airtight container after display.

What materials are needed to conduct the Galaxy sugar crystal science experiment?

How long does it take for the sugar crystals to form, is the galaxy sugar crystal science experiment safe for children to conduct, can i eat the sugar crystals from the galaxy sugar crystal science experiment, why do the sugar crystals take on a galaxy-like appearance, final thoughts, share article:, winter science experiments, how to make a cloud in a jar.

Edible Sugar Crystal Science Experiment for Kids

Categories Seasonal STEAM , STEM Activities , Summer STEM Activities

Every kid loves the galaxy. There is something completely fascinating about space, spaceships, space travel, and how things work in space. Explore all of these themes all while learning about crystal science with the galaxy sugar crystal science experiment!

Kids will love making these sweet and edible sugar crystals, which makes it one of the best crystal experiments, because who doesn’t love delicious edible science?

Expand on sugar crystal science when you add the STEM extension ideas below and turn your science experiment into a complete STEM activity!

How to Make Crystals with Sugar

Read on to find out how to make your very own galaxy sugar crystal science experiment!

For more fun space theme activities, try our list of space activities , make a solar system mobile, try your own backyard space camp, or make planet slime!

The Science of Sugar Crystals in a Jar

During the summer, the last thing any child wants to do is learn, right?

But what if you could make learning so fun that kids begged to do it? That is where summer science experiments come in.

During the summer, we like to focus on hands-on science experiments and STEM activities with our kids, and they look forward to doing them every year.

Not only do they get the benefit of using their brains during the summer, but doing learning activities over the summer also provides the following benefits:

• Improved science grades
• Interest in science and math
• Screen-free fun
• Increased knowledge over the summer
• Prevention of summer slide

Making the galaxy sugar crystal science experiment is one of our favorite summer science experiments!

What Are Sugar Crystals?

A crystal is an example of an ionic bond between molecules. An ionic bond is an inflexible bonding of molecules that forms on a repeating pattern.

The molecules only bond in a specific pattern, which makes each type of crystal have a unique structure.

Most crystals are formed with minerals, but a few other organic materials can form crystallized shapes as well, including snowflakes and sugar.

Rock candy is an iconic and common representation of sugar crystals.

The most fun thing about sugar crystal science is that you can eat it afterward!

How Are Sugar Crystals Made?

Use this activity to explore the science behind sugar crystals. Use our science experiment worksheet to record your experiment results.

Each grain of sugar is made up of small crystals that are arranged into a specific pattern. Granulated sugar is made up of sucrose molecules.

Sugar crystals are formed when the sugar molecules connect, forming specific molecular chains, that form a larger crystal shape.

Sugar dissolves in water because the bond between sugar molecules is weaker than the bond that forms between sugar and water molecules.

When you add more sugar to boiling water than can dissolve in the water, it creates a super-saturated solution.

Hot water can hold more sugar molecules than cold water, so as the solution cools, the sugar molecules start bonding again, forming large sugar crystals in the water.

The longer the solution sits, the bigger your sugar crystals will get. You can speed the crystallization process by cooling your solution in the refrigerator.  

Are Sugar Crystals Minerals?

The short answer is no. To be a mineral, a crystal has to be formed from inorganic material (something that doesn’t come from a living organisim).

Since sugar comes from a living organism (originally a sugar cane plant), it can form crystals, but they are not minerals.

How to Make Sugar Crystals

Turn your sugar crystals into a science project by adding these STEM elements to your experiment.

Science: Solutions, solutes, density, molecules, sugar crystal formation, crystal science

Technology: Learn about galaxies, nebulae, and space

Engineering: Perfecting the recipe to maximize crystal production, designing crystal look

Math: Measuring, comparing, adjusting recipes, calculating crystallization time

Rock Candy Experiment Worksheet

Grab the worksheet below and complete your sugar crystal science lesson!

Get the lesson plan for the sugar crystal science experiment! Everything you need to teach kids about science crystals with NGSS aligned concepts!

More Galaxy Experiments

Super Fun and Easy Crystal Science Fair Projects

Galaxy Oobleck Science Experiment

DIY Galaxy Slime

How to Make Fluffy Galaxy Slime (Just 3 ingredients!)

Books about the Sun

What You Need to Make the Sugar Crystal Recipe:

This post contains affiliate links. View our privacy policy for more info.

How to Make Edible Sugar Crystals

Making edible sugar crystals is easy.

First, boil two cups of water in a medium saucepan.

Add six cups of sugar to the solution and stir until dissolved.

Be careful not to boil the sugar too long, or else soft candy will start to form, which will ruin the crystal shape. You only want to heat the sugar long enough to dissolve in the water.

Once the sugar is dissolved, pour it carefully into three jars.

Color one jar blue, one jar pink, and one jar orange.

Sprinkle some edible glitter into each jar and stir.

Add a small bead or marble to the jar to encourage the crystals to form around the center of the jar. If you don’t add the small object, the crystals will form around the sides of the jar.

That can also look pretty, but it will be harder to examine the crystals. You can also use a string and popsicle stick to form the crystals around that.

Let the solution cool and sit for at least a week.

You can speed up the crystallization process by cooling the sugar solution in the refrigerator, but your crystals will come out sticky.

Once the crystals are as large as you would like them, pour out any remaining sugar water. Flip the jars upside down on a paper towel and let any excess liquid drip out.

Heat the sides of the jar to release the crystals from the jar (or leave them in).

Now you’ve made rock candy! You can eat it if you like.

Use a magnifying glass to examine the crystals.

What patterns can you find?

Break a small crystal piece off and examine under a microscope. Is the pattern the same under the microscope?

Share this project with a friend!

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Growing Sugar Crystals: Recipe And How To Make Rock Candy

Our free e-book of ten experiments that won't let you down! has to have crystals right at the top of the list.

It's one of those easy science experiments which is perfect for kids .

Sugar is an ideal way to grow beautiful rock candy crystals and you can add colors and spices into the mix for extra fun!

It's also a fantastic way to show kids science in action.

Growing sugar crystals can prove surprisingly tricky - we've had our failures along the way!

This recipe is tried and tested . 

But I also share what not to do so you don't waste the same amount of time as we did!

I'm going to show you the method I use to make sugar crystals into rock candy with your kids because I've had my failures with growing crystals and we prefer our homeschool method which seems to work best.

Rock candy crystals are a fantastic activity to add into homeschool science activities for preschool .

Having said that, we've just been doing a homeschool rock candy experiment involving growing crystals with turmeric as a flavor and we're well into high school !

Instructions For Growing Sugar Crystals

The best homeschool method we've used for making rock candy crystals is to use:

• 1 cup water (240ml)
• 3 cups ordinary household sugar (600g)*
• Food coloring
• Half a teaspoon flavoring

*You can use brown sugar for variety!

You can download our free printable sheet with the instructions showing you how to grow your own sugar crystals .

• Place the water and sugar in a saucepan and stir well as you bring to the boil . You seem to have added an awful lot of sugar to this experiment but it'll make your crystals grow better.
• When your mixture is boiling, add some food coloring to the mix.
• If you want to be extra daring, visit the spice isle for other food flavorings . Turmeric and mint are possibilities, and growing lemon flavored rock candy crystals should go down well with your kids.
• Leave to cool while you prepare the jar where your rock candy crystals will grow.
• Any see-through container will do, but we like homeschool mason jars . Tie a piece of string to a teaspoon handle or a Popsicle stick so that it's suspended in the middle . You don't want your string touching the sides or bottom of the jar.
• Pour your slightly cooled sugar mixture up to the top of the jar and cover with something to stop the dust getting in - a paper towel will do fine.
• Now comes the hard part! Get your kids to watch your crystal experiment but don't touch for a week . Take out and enjoy your string of beautiful homeschool rock candy crystals!

Problems With Growing Sugar Crystals

• If the top of your jar begins to crust over with crystals you can just break them up and throw them away. But if crystals begin to form on the bottom you're best to put the string and solution in a new container .
• You need to use a string made of cotton or wool, not nylon , or your crystal experiment probably won't work.
• The biggest problem is getting your kids to wait a week for their rock candy!

Alternative Crystal Growing Methods

Here are the beautiful pictures of sugar crystals Jeni and Charley made.

Jeni explains how to do it here:

Sugar Crystal Recipe

• Make a super saturated sugar solution by stirring sugar into freshly boiled water.
• Add blue food dye.
• Soak bamboo skewers in the sugar solution for a minute and then roll in regular sugar.
• Leave until thoroughly dry - Charley left his for a couple of weeks.
• Supend the stick by clothes pins and leave for a month.

However, Jeni and Charley want to warn you about something - because making sugar crystals isn't always as simple as it sounds!

"The first stick only dried overnight and although we left it in the solution for two weeks, hardly anything formed on it.  Maybe the sugar it was rolled in just came off straight away and it hadn’t dried fully." ~ Jeni

So you need to be patient and really leave the stick to dry thoroughly BEFORE you suspend it in the sugar solution.

DIY Sugar Crystals Using Potash

Kelly from my Courageous Homeschooling Facebook support group shared these home grown blue crystals. She explains how they made them below.

"We used potash alum stirred quickly into really hot water. Make sure it is all dissolved and let sit for 12-14 hours. Then drain the water after the crystals have formed and add blue food coloring." ~Kelly

Home School Science

Easy science experiments are a great way for kids to learn homeschool science , as our free homeschooling curriculum shows.

Your rock candy experiment has enabled you to show your kids what happens when you create a supersaturated solution by first heating a saturated sugar solution (a solution in which no more sugar can dissolve at a particular temperature) and then allowing it to cool. A supersaturated solution is unstable — so the sugar will come out of solution, forming what's called a precipitate .

Over time, the water will evaporate slowly from the solution. As the water evaporates, the solution becomes more saturated and sugar molecules will continue to come out of the solution and collect on the seed crystals on the string.

You can see some crystal experiments you can do here at the Smithsonian Institute.

I don't know if your kids are interested in any of that, but if they're like William who loves numbers in our homeschool they might be mind blown to know that their finished rock candy will be made up of about a quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) molecules!

Easy Science Experiments

Lots more fun homeschool experiments for you to try with your kids. 

• Silly Putty Experiment
• Make A Terrarium. Caring for living things is a great way to bring homeschool science to life with your kids. See how to make an easy cactus terrarium and a container for carnivorous plants .

• Easy Kids Lava Lamp Experiment

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Life At The Zoo

Making sugar crystals – science at home.

If you're new here, you may want to join us on Facebook or Google + . Thanks for visiting!

Welcome back to another Science at Home post… this post was encouraged by Trisha from Inspiration Laboratory – she challenged me to get sciency in the kitchen! The obvious and most fun craft for kids in the science are Bicarbonate of Soda experiments as there is lots happening very quickly. We will be doing some in the future. In the meantime, I thought they would enjoy making some sugar crystals.

• Materials: Sugar, water, saucepan, jars or glasses, coffee stirrers or wooden kebab sticks – food colouring optional
• 3 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water
• The food colouring was an experiment to see whether we could colour our crystals

1) Pour the sugar and water into a sauspan and stir. You will find that “not much happens” to the sugar. Water is able to absorb solids – but not very much. By heating it, you enable it to absorb more.

2) Start heating the pan and keep stirring – still not much happens, clearly the water isn’t hot enough. Bring to the boil and keep stirring – now the water is able to absorb all of the sugar.

3) Let cool a little and pour into your jar. Add a coffee stirrer attached to a piece of card (we just cut a slid) and let rest. Make sure the card does NOT cover the whole jar opening. As you want water to evaporate.

4) Leave for 2-3 weeks and let the Crystals form

We observed some crystals forming at the top an bottom of the jar immediately. The ones on the sticks started forming gradually after about 4 days. After a week, we had a good amount. After 2, the white could probably have been removed. But we are continuing to leave them a bit longer.

The Science?

This experiment is about “dissolving things” and “absorbing things”, as well as about structures and how some materials have a Crystal structure in their natural state. The water is able to absorb other materials (i.e. they dissolve in the water), but the ability to absorb is increased as you heat the water (this has to do with the molecules of the water moving around more, allowing for others to “slide in”). As the water cools, it’s ability to hold the molecules reduces and they are “pushed out” – the crystals start to form. Over time, the water evaporates from the jar – making the concentration of the sugar higher and again resulting in more crystals being formed.

Visit Inspiration Laboratories  discover what happens when you add water to cornstarch  flour or baking soda!

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Science Fun

Grow Rock Candy Crystal Science Experiment

In this fun and easy crystal science experiment, we’re going to grow rock candy crystals.  

Note: Since hot water in involved, please insure adult supervision is utilized.

• Measuring cups
• Clean glass jar
• Butter knife or popsicle stick
• Rough string or yarn
• Microwave safe container
• Food coloring

Instructions:

• Tie a piece of the string to the center of the popsicle stick. Lay the popsicle stick across the top of the jar. Let the string hang down inside the jar. Make sure the string does not touch the side or bottom of the jar.
• Add three cups of sugar to the microwave safe container.
• Now add one cup of water to the sugar.
• Use the spoon to mix the sugar and water.
• With adult supervision, microwave the sugar and water mixture for two minutes.
• Have the adult remove the container and use the spoon to carefully stir the hot sugar water solution. Be careful to avoid splatters as the solution is very hot!
• Now have the adult microwave the solution for another two minutes.
• Have the adult carefully and gently stir the hot solution one more time.
• If you like, add several drops of food coloring at this time to give your candy some color.
• Carefully have the adult pour the sugar solution into the clean glass jar.
• Now dip the string into the solution for several moments and allow the string to absorb some of the sugar solution.
• Lay the string on the wax paper to dry. Be sure the strings lays perpendicular to the pencil and forms the shape of a T.
• Once dry, lower the string into the jar of sugar solution. The solution will have thickened so carefully work the string down into the solution.
• Place a paper towel over the top of the jar to keep out dust and debris and allow the string to remain in the solution for a week.
• Look at the string throughout the week and observe any changes.
• After a week, remove the string and enjoy your sugar rock crystal candy!

EXPLORE AWESOME SCIENCE EXPERIMENT VIDEOS!

How it Works:

The sugar dissolves in the heated water. As the solution cools, it becomes less able to hold the dissolved sugar. The sugar then clings to string and forms the rock candy crystals. 

Make This A Science Project:

CAUTION: Do not eat – experiment making different solutions and record the rate at which crystals forms. Some ideas to test would be Epsom salts, Borax, and salt. 

EXPLORE TONS OF FUN AND EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!

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Make Sugar Crystals

Introduction:.

Growing large, good quality crystals requires not only patience, care, and commitment, but also continual monitoring and assessment. The crystal growing project provides students with the opportunity to be actively involved in a long – term science project. The formation of a beautiful crystal at the conclusion of the project is extremely rewarding in itself. Additionally, the students learn much about crystals and their formation. Students are also required to write a short report on the project which further contributes to the learning process.

Making crystals is a business for many people. It is also the last step in production of many chemicals. The problem is that growing crystals is a slow process and we are trying to identify the conditions that can increase the rate of crystallization.

Dear This project guide contains information that you need in order to start your project. If you have any questions or need more support about this project, click on the “ Ask Question ” button on the top of this page to send me a message.

If you are new in doing science project, click on “ How to Start ” in the main page. There you will find helpful links that describe different types of science projects, scientific method, variables, hypothesis, graph, abstract and all other general basics that you need to know.

Project advisor

Information Gathering:

What is a crystal.

A crystal is a solid that consists of the various atoms, ions, or molecules being arranged in a uniform repeating pattern. This results in the material having a specific shape and color, and having other characteristic properties. Diamond (used in jewelry, and cutting tools) is an example of a crystal; it is made of pure carbon. Graphite (used in pencils and lubricants) is also a crystal made from carbon. Salt and sugar are also examples of crystals.

Recrystallization is a process that has been used to purify solid material by dissolving the solid (called a solute) in an appropriate liquid (called a solvent) and then having the material come out of solution in crystalline form. Depending upon conditions, one may obtain a mass of many small crystals or one large crystal.

More detailed information can be found on crystal types, shapes & sizes, light and color, how crystals form, and an encyclopedia review.

CRYSTAL TYPES

in terms of crystal systems and lattice types. There are 7 crystal systems:

1. triclinic 2. monoclinic 3. orthorhombic 4. tetragonal 5. trigonal 6. hexagonal 7. cubic

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SUGAR

chemical names : sucrose, saccharose, beta-D-Fructofuranosyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside formula : C12H22O11 molar mass : 342.30 specific gravity : 1.587 melting point : 160 – 186 °C crystal class : monoclinic spenoidal

Question/ Purpose:

What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement. If you just want to make crystals, you do not need a question, variables and a hypothesis; however you may want to study on a specific question about making sugar crystals. This is a sample question:

How does the temperature affect the speed of crystallization?

Identify Variables:

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other. If you just want to make crystals, you do not need a question, variables and a hypothesis; however you may want to study on a specific question about making sugar crystals. This is how you may define variables:

Independent variable (also known as manipulated variable) is the temperature.

Dependent variable (also known as responding variable) is the amount of crystals formed in a certain period of time.

Constants are the amount of water, the amount of sugar, the size of the jar in each crystallization trial.

Hypothesis:

Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis. If you just want to make crystals, you do not need a question, variables and a hypothesis; however you may want to study on a specific question about making sugar crystals. This is a sample hypothesis:

Sugar solution forms crystals faster in cold temperatures.

Experiment Design:

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can trust, it must have a “control.” A control is an additional experimental trial or run. It is a separate experiment, done exactly like the others. The only difference is that no experimental variables are changed. A control is a neutral “reference point” for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing anything. Dependable controls are sometimes very hard to develop. They can be the hardest part of a project. Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of experiments that includes a control is called a “controlled experiment.”

Crystal Making Activity

Here is a procedure designed to produce many crystals using ordinary sugar.

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO

Pour the water into a saucepan and carefully heat it on the stove until the water boils, then turn off the heat.

Gradually add the sugar, a spoonful at a time, to the hot water and stir after each addition to dissolve. continue adding sugar gradually until no more will dissolve in the water. If necessary, heat the solution to make it clear.

Let the solution cool a bit and pour it into the tall jar. If the solution is too hot it might break the jar.

Cut a length of string which is about 6 mm (1/4 inch) shorter than the height of the jar. Attach a small weight (such as a piece of a clean rock) to one end of the string and tie the other end to the center of the pencil or narrow stick.

Let the solution cool (e.g. over night).

Moisten the string with water and rub some grains of sugar along the string. Let the string dry.

Slowly lower the string into the solution, making sure that the weight does not touch the bottom of the jar. Rest the pencil or stick across the rim.

Allow the solution and string to rest undisturbed for several days or weeks.

Watch what happens!

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN?

You should see crystals growing in 5 to 15 days. If not, be patient; it might take longer.

The grains of sugar along the string act as ‘seeds’ on which crystals dissolved in the water are deposited as the sugar solution cools. The longer the string remains in the solution, the larger the crystals will grow.

After a while, the crystals will stop growing. To make them even bigger, carefully remove the crystals on the string. Pour the liquid into a sauce pan, carefully heat again, add more sugar, and repeat steps 2 and 3 above. Put your sugar string back into the solution.

All sugar crystals have the same characteristic shape regardless of size.

Please be patient. Remember, growing crystals takes time.

Experiment 1: How does the temperature affect the speed of crystallization?

1. Make a strong sugar solution (Boil 2 cups of water in a small sauce pan, add 4 cups of sugar, stir the mixture until the sugar is fully dissolved and you get a clear solution). 2. Transfer the solution to 3 identical plastic cups. Make sure all three cups have the same amount of sugar solution. 3. Cover all three cups with a plastic wrap 4. Place one of the cups in the refrigerator. 5. Keep one of the cups in room temperature. 6. Place the last cup in a warm place such as a warm oven (NOT HOT). 7. After one day, open all three cups. Empty the excess syrup and weigh the cups. 8. Which cup has the most crystal? Your results table may look like this:

Make a graph:

Use the above table and make a bar graph for visual presentation of your results. Make one vertical bar for each of the temperatures you test. Write the condition or temperature under each bar (For example you may write refrigerator under one of the bars)

The height of each bar represents the mass of crystals formed in that temperature.

Related Notes:

Seed crystals are very important in formation of sugar crystals. Seed crystals can be planted on the string or on a bamboo skewer, like sugar sticks. To prepare a bamboo skewer with crystal seeds, first insect the stick in sugar solution so it becomes sticky.

Remove excess liquid by rubbing the skewer against the container. Then insert the skewer in a pile of sugar. Small sugar crystals will stick to the skewer. Let it dry in a warm place.

After your sugar solution cools off, insect the seeded bamboo skewer in the solution. To hold the stick in place, you may use a piece of cardboard. Simply make a small hole in the center of a piece of cardboard and pass the skewer through the hole.

In a highly concentrated solution, you can see the growth of crystals as soon as you insert the seeded skewer in the solution. It will take about 7 days for crystals to become as large as commercially available sugar sticks.

Food coloring may be used to make sugar crystals in different colors.

Materials and Equipment:

HERE’s WHAT YOU NEED

• 1 cup water (distilled water works best)
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tall empty jar
• 1 Popsicle stick
• 1 paper clip
• fine string
• small saucepan
• Scale** ** You may already have a kitchen scale that can be used for your experiment. If you need need to buy one, make sure you buy a scale that measures in grams. Any scale with a capacity of 300 grams up to 500 grams will usually have the precision you need for your experiment.

Use this link to see s amples of scales available at WWW.KLK.COM online store.

Results of Experiment (Observation):

Experiments are often done in series. A series of experiments can be done by changing one variable a different amount each time. A series of experiments is made up of separate experimental “runs.” During each run you make a measurement of how much the variable affected the system under study. For each run, a different amount of change in the variable is used. This produces a different amount of response in the system. You measure this response, or record data, in a table for this purpose. This is considered “raw data” since it has not been processed or interpreted yet. When raw data gets processed mathematically, for example, it becomes results.

Calculations:

Keep track and record the amount of water and sugar that you use. Also record results in a time table.

Summery of Results:

Crystals need time to form and when they start growing, they appear everywhere, not just where we intend. As you have seen in the pictures, many crystals formed at the bottom and sides of the pan. We may find a nicely formed crystal among many others and use that as a seed for later experiments and get a larger crystal.

We hanged a string with a large knot at the bottom of that into the pan and expected the crystals grow on the knot. A small crystal ball formed on the knot, but many more crystals formed at the surface, sides and bottom of the pan. Picture in the left shows some of the side and surface crystals. Close observation

Conclusion:

Making sugar crystals is a fine task and needs accuracy and attention. Overheating the solution can cause decomposition and great discoloration. Too much sugar in solution can cause over saturation. Not enough sugar will cause under-saturation and in all these cases there will be no crystals.

The updated recipe that is now an attachment at the bottom of this project is made after some experiments and fine tuning the procedures.

Picture in the right shows a small crystal ball formed after 3 weeks in a saturated sugar solution. This crystal is formed on a knot at the bottom of the string.

Related Questions & Answers:

What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing experiments. You may now be able to understand or verify things that you discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more questions, which lead to additional hypothesis that need to be tested.

Possible Errors:

If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring instrument is working erratically.

If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully rethink the design of your experiments. Review each step of the procedure to find sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.

References:

Click here for more references. The history of sugar

Updated Recipe 1:

Making Rock Candy

Crystal Growing Experiment – Making Rock Candy

This is a nice little experiment for young scientists. Supplies: 600 grams (21 ounces) of sucrose (table sugar) 8 ounces of tap water a pot, beaker or saucepan to heat and mix the solution a candy thermometer (need to be able to measure 170°F) a spoon for mixing the solution heat source (stove) crystal growing container (glass or plastic which can tolerate boiling water)

Caution! Since this experiment involves heat, hot containers, and a hot sugar solution, there is the risk of burns. Use extreme caution to protect yourself from burns. Children should be supervised by an adult when performing this experiment because of the risk of burns.

Place 600 grams (21 ounces) of sugar into the pot for mixing and heating.

Pour 8 ounces (one cup) of water into the pot containing the sugar.

Stir the sugar and water until all the sugar is wet but not dissolved.

Heat the solution, stirring constantly. Place the candy thermometer into the solution to measure the temperature of the solution. Stir constantly until the solution is 170°F then remove the solution from the heat.

Continue to stir the solution as the solution cools to 125°F.

Pour the 125°F (HOT!) solution into the crystal growing vessel. Remember to use a vessel which will tolerate boiling water!

Allow the solution to cool to room temperature. Close/seal the container.

Crystal will grow in the container within 2 to 3 days. Maximum crystal growth will occur by 7 days. One can grow more and larger crystals by allowing water to evaporate from the solution (Crystallization by evaporation). Punch or cut holes in the top of the container or simply leave the lid off the container. It may take many weeks for the water to evaporate, therefore this method of crystal growth is much slower.

Additional Notes:

Adding more sugar will result in more crystals (likely smaller) and a more rapid appearance of the crystals.

Updated Recipe 2:

There are two simple basic methods to grow crystals from a sugar solution

The Evaporation Method The Slowly Cooling Method Using the evaporation method you simply let water to evaporate of your saturated solution to get crystals. Its quite simple but may take a long time.

Using the slowly cooling method you produce a hot saturated solution and let cool it down slowly to get the crystals. The catch is let it cool down slowly. As slower a solution cools down as bigger and finer the crystals will be. Fortunately the solubility of sugar rises greatly when the temperature goes up. The good thing is this method is quick you will get nice sized crystals within several hours to days.

The Evaporation Method

Dissolve per 100 grams of water 230 grams of sugar heat up the solution until it boils and gets clear. The solution may have a slight yellow hue. For heating up the solution use a cooking pot or a vessel made from heat resistant glass (Pyrex), as for example replacement jars for electric coffee machines. You may also use the microwave but of course only use vessels which are suitable for this (no metal or metal parts in microwave!). To grow the crystals you can use any kind of galas or plastic container with a wide open mouth. For example preservation glasses etc. You should produce at least about 500 ml of solution better around 1000 ml (or a quart). After the covered solution has cooled down so after two or three days there should be some sugar crystals at the bottom of the jar. If not throw in some little grains of sugar. Let the solution stay alone and covered for about a week. If you got no crystals on the bottom, yet even after throwing in some sugar grains your solution can not be saturated and won’t work. This may happen either because you made a mistake with the amounts of water and sugar used or your room temperature is well above 20 °C (app. 70 °F). To avoid mistakes in the amounts of water and sugar used, use an electronic kitchen scale which should have at least a resolution of 2 grams (better 1 gram) most can be switched from oz./lbs to metric, metric is easier to calculate. Also weigh the water as its much more accurate as measuring the volume.

Okay everything worked fine, there are some crystals at the bottom and the solution rested for a week. Now pour the solution in your final freshly cleaned growing vessel. You may filter but its not absolutely necessary and filtering the viscose solution may take for ever. Now you need a seed crystal, usually you will find at the bottom nicely sized sugar crystals already suitable for this purpose or you may use a bought candy sugar crystal (that’s cheating !). Dry up the crystal with some paper towel and fix it with a slip knot to a thread of “invisible sewing thread” which is a thin clear thread of nylon or use very thin fishing line. Don’t use regular threads made out of cotton etc. as they work like a wick and are easily visible in the ready crystal. Fix the thread to a piece of wood or a pencil for example so that the crystal suspends somehow above 2 – 3 cm (about one inch) the bottom of your growing vessel but well below the surface of the solution. Before doing that rinse the crystal on the thread shortly in cold water. The growing vessel must stay open to allow the water to evaporate but you may cover it with a thin paper towel (most paper towels are multi layer so you may split them) to prevent flies, wasps, dust etc. from falling into the solution. As the water evaporates your seed crystal will grow. This will not work if you are in a very humid climate or if your room temperature changes and goes up. As evaporation goes on there may grow additional crystals on the bottom of the vessel on the thread or on the sides. They grow on the cost of your desired main crystal. If so, pour the solution in a freshly cleaned other vessel rinse the crystal and the thread shortly in cold water (remove additional crystals which may have formed on the thread) and go on with evaporation.

The Slowly Cooling Method

If you produced the saturated solution for the evaporation method and found some crystals at the bottom you already used the slowly cooling method to produce crystals ! To get bigger and better ones you just have to add more sugar (larger “security gap”) and take care that the solution cools down very slowly. A good basic recipe is to add 230 to 300 grams of sugar to 100 grams of water, heat up until the solution boils and gets clear. Pour the solution in your final growing vessel and close it tightly. Take care that the the solution cools down very slowly by insulating it and also avoid any moving, shaking or vibration of the solution. You may give the crystals a better surface to grow, a matrix, if you put in a piece of rock, or have it suspended on a thread, or use a metal paper clip on a thread. It takes a few hours to days, depending on how much solution you take and how good your insulation is, until the solution has cooled down to room temperature and the crystals are ready. They main problems you may have with the slowly cooling method is that the solution does not cool down slowly enough, which results in small crystals or your solution has cooled down but there are no crystals at all ! What happened ? Supersaturation ! Your solution contains much more sugar as “allowed” since there have not formed any seed crystals spontaneously. If the solution is disturbed or you throw in some little sugar grains crystallization starts immediately. Since the growing velocity of sugar crystals is small, solutions are often slightly supersaturated when they have cooled down and so the crystals still grow a little while even if the temperature does not change anymore. So allow the crystals some extra time.

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Crystal Science Experiment at Home

My oldest has really been into crystals for a few years now. Every time we go for a walk, or join our Cub Scout pack for a hike, he spends a lot of the time searching for crystals along the way. He once made crystals during an event at church, and wanted to make some at home to. I’ve been thinking of making some crystals with the boys for fun, but couldn’t decide which ones to make. So we decided to perform our own crystal science experiment at home , to find out how three different kinds of crystals compare to one another.

A Science Experiment at Home to Compare Crystals

The three types of make at home crystal recipes most common are: salt, sugar, and borax. When making crystals from either of the substances, you first create a water and salt, sugar, or borax solution. A solution is a mixture of two or more substances, where you can not see the separate substances without a separation procedure, such as boiling. There are two parts to a solution: a solute and a solvent. The solute is the substance that dissolves, and the solvent is the majority of the mixture. In the case of making crystals, the solvent is water, and the solute is either salt, sugar, or borax.

I found various ratios of water to salt, sugar, and borax, while looking for recipes of each crystal. I decided to conduct our experiment using the same ratio of solvent (water) to solute (salt, sugar, or borax).

Crystal Experiment

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• 3 chalkboard garden sticks
• 1 piece of chalk
• 3 white pipe cleaners
• 3 small glass mason jars

Salt Crystal Science Experiment

Step 1: Wrap the end of a pipe cleaner around a garden stick. Label the garden stick “Salt” with chalk.

Step 2: Boil 1/2 cup of water.

Step 3: Slowly pour in 1/4 cup of salt, and stir until all the salt is dissolved. You should see small crystals forming on the surface of the water.

Step 4: Transfer the salt water into one of the mason jars.

Step 5: Stick the pipe cleaner into the water/salt solution.

Step 6: Place the jar in a well sunlit location. I placed mine on a window sill.

Sugar Crystal Science Experiment

Step 1: Wrap the end of a pipe cleaner around a garden stick. Label the garden stick “Sugar” with chalk.

Step 3: Slowly pour in 3/4 cup of sugar, and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. You should see small crystals forming on the surface of the water.

Step 4: Transfer the sugar water into one of the mason jars.

Step 5: Stick the pipe cleaner from step 1 into the water/salt solution.

Step 6: Place the jar in a well sunlit location. I placed mine next to the salt water, on a window sill.

Borax Crystal Science Experiment

Step 1: Wrap the end of a pipe cleaner around a garden stick. Label the garden stick “Borax” with chalk.

Step 3: Slowly pour in 1/4 cup of borax, and stir until all the borax is dissolved. You should see small crystals forming on the surface of the water.

Step 4: Transfer the borax water into one of the mason jars.

Step 5: Stick the pipe cleaner into the water/borax solution.

Step 6: Place the jar in a well sunlit location. I placed mine on a window sill, next to the salt and sugar solutions.

I let all the solutions sit on the window sill over night, and the next afternoon we pulled out our crystals and this is what we found!

The salt and sugar crystals were less than impressive, but the borax crystals formed really nicely!

I did a little more research on salt and sugar crystals, and found out they needed more time to form. I left the pipe cleaners in the salt and sugar solutions for another week, and these were our results!

Crystal Science Experiment Thoughts

All three solutions created very different crystals. The salt crystals look more like fluffy snowballs, which formed after a week of the pipe cleaner in the solution. The pipe cleaner wire also started to rust, which may have hindered the crystals from forming.

The sugar crystals were small and spiky (as described by my 4 year old). The pipe cleaner’s wire did not rust in the sugar water solution, which is an interesting result!

The borax crystals were more like the crystals we expected to make before we started our experiment, cube shaped and clear.

My oldest one and I spent some time talking about our results. We discussed why the crystals all had different shapes to them. I told him the reason was because the molecules in each solution form a particular pattern when going from liquid to solid state(solution to crystal) In other words, the molecules of the salt water solution (sodium, hydrogen, and oxygen) form a certain pattern of bonds when cooling down. The pattern of bonds results in a particular shape of the crystal. The same holds true for the sugar and borax solutions.

Have you tried a crystal science experiment at home? What were your results? We really loved experimenting with making crystals, so expect to find more on the blog soon!

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Sugar & Salt Crystal Science Projects

Fun Science Experiments on Cells

Though sugar and salt look like twins, they are different in many ways, including how they react to different elements and how they cause other things to behave. Performed under adult supervision, there are many cool, educational experiments for science classes, scouting troops or just for fun, all proving that these look-alike substances are different in more ways than just taste.

Water Reactions

This simple experiment observes the different ways sugar and salt react to water. Pour one teaspoon of sugar into a clear plastic cup and one teaspoon of salt to an identical cup. Add 1/3 cup of warm water to each, stir for 10 seconds and wait 3 minutes. The sugar will form a sticky foam, while the salt will not react at all. Another easy experiment is to test the evaporation rate of water when salt or sugar is added. Fill three glasses with 3/4 cup of water. Add 3/4 cup of salt to one glass, 3/4 cup of sugar to another and leave the third glass alone. Place all three in a well-ventilated area and compare the evaporation rate of pure water, salt water and sugar water.

Cell Changes

This two-part experiment uses sugar-filled raisins and salted potatoes to study the way cells move water. Place a spoonful of raisins into a jar and fill it with water, noting that the raisins look small and hard. Observe the raisins after they have soaked for 3 hours and see that they have turned puffy and swollen. This is because the natural sugar in their cells have absorbed water, or caused it to move. For part two, take two peeled and uncooked potatoes and note that both feel hard and solid. Cut them into chunks and put an equal number into two bowls of water. Stir a teaspoon of salt into one bowl and leave the other bowl filled with only water. Compare the potatoes after they have soaked for 2 hours. The ones in unsalted water will feel unchanged, but the ones in the salted water will feel soft and and rubbery. This is because the salt water caused them to lose cells, which changed their texture.

Crystal Formations

This is another two-part experiment and examines the different ways salt and sugar form crystals. To make salt crystals, fill a jar half full with tap water. Add noniodized salt, starting with 2 tablespoons and continuing to add until the salt starts collecting in the water instead of dissolving. Create sugar crystals by pouring 2 cups of water into a saucepan and heating it to a boil. Add 4 cups of granulated sugar and stir until the water is clear. Allow the solution to cool and pour it into a jar. For both salt and sugar crystals, tie string around a pencil and lay over the jar openings, making sure the string length ends just above the water’s surface. Set the jars someplace where they will be undisturbed for several weeks and watch as crystals form, marking differences and similarities in size, growth rate and formation. Adding food coloring will make the project more interesting. While the salt crystals are not edible, the sugar crystals will yield sweet, homemade rock candy!

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About the Author

Donna G. Morton lives in Atlanta and has been writing for more than 27 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in journalism from East Tennessee State University and spent 15 years in radio and corporate advertising, winning 10 Excellence in Advertising Awards for creative writing.

Photo Credits

Salt image by lefebvre_jonathan from Fotolia.com

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