4Real Forums: My science project flop

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Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
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Topic: My science project flop

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Tina P.
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Posted: Nov 07 2005 at 8:31am \| IP Logged

I don't even know *how* in the world this project *can* flop, but flop it did. We tried to make salt and sugar crystals. The sugar crystals seemed to take ... somewhat, but there is just colored liquid in the salt crystal glass. What did I do wrong?

It seems like a 30-something year old should be able to do this project since I remember when I was a kid seeing glasses and glasses of sugar crystals being made at our local library...by *children.*

I seem to be chemistry challenged (and that's rather strange since I'm a pretty good off-the-cuff cook!).

Help? Any websites out there that tell you step by step with exact amounts and ingredients. We're supposed to make crystals out of coal and borax as well.

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MacBeth
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Posted: Nov 07 2005 at 8:55am \| IP Logged

Hey Tina! Some demonstrations just work better than others, and some require way more patience. Wait until most of the water is evaporated from the salt solution, and you'll see crystals, but they will probably not be as dramatic as the sugar crystals. The solution must be supersaturated (have more salt than the water can handle) in order to begin to crystallize out. In salt farms, this takes a long time, and requires several pools to hold different concentrations of saline solutions. Find much more info in Mark Kurlansky's Salt (not for kids, as it contains ritual sacrifices, and se* in primitive cultures...not graphically, but still...).

A fun source for borax crystal snowflakes is this astronomy site (and then you can click around for lots more fun).

I have never grown coal crystals. You'll have to let me know how it goes.

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MacBeth in NY
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ladybugs
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Posted: Nov 07 2005 at 11:10am \| IP Logged

Hi Tina and MacBeth,

We recently did a salt crystal experiment from the book Glues, Brews and Goos

It worked great! After we let the crystals form for about a week, we then added food coloring to compare the travel time up the string.

I got our book from the library.

Also, here's what might be a silly question, does it matter what kind of salt you use? We used Kosher.

Thanks for any help in this,

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MacBeth
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Posted: Nov 07 2005 at 12:18pm \| IP Logged

ladybugs wrote:

Hi Tina and MacBeth,

We recently did a salt crystal experiment from the book Glues, Brews and Goos

That is one of my all-time, top-10, must-have books for homeschooling, and worth every penny. Everything in the book that I have tried works well, and there are even recipes for edible things.

I think Kosher salt works well because it is pure salt, and does not have anti-caking compounds added to it, which, come to think about it, might hinder crystal formation!!

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MacBeth in NY
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Tina P.
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Posted: Nov 10 2005 at 2:14am \| IP Logged

MacBeth wrote:

I think Kosher salt works well because it is pure salt, and does not have anti-caking compounds added to it, which, come to think about it, might hinder crystal formation!!

Aha! I *knew* there was something I should have known about that I didn't when we made our salt crystals. So I'm not so deficient as at first I thought I was!

Whew!

I'll see whether I can check out that book at the library. We have lost a book from the library and I don't know whether they'll allow me to borrow any until I replace it.

Trouble is, it's not even a book I want so I'm desperately trying to find it before time is up so that I don't have to buy them one.

Pray to St. Anthony that we find "I Am a Little Monkey" to return to the library.

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