Crystal Formations! By Quinn Santucci

Question Which temperature will make the largest and purest crystals?

Background I chose this experiment because a few years back, my dad gave me the idea to make candy crystals. It worked I just never compared it or really did an experiment on it. I thought this would be cool because I love seeing things form over time. Crystals!!

Hypothesis If I put a jar of the mixture in 3 different temperatures, then room temperature will make the largest and purest crystals.

Variables Independent: The temperature that the crystals wll form in. Dependent: The size and purity of the crystals. Constant: Same thermometer, same size jar, same recipe for mixture.

Procedure Prepare an ice bath by filling the bowl half full of ice and add water until bowl is ¾ full. Place bowl on counter-top or table. Take temperature of the fridge, the counter or table and the ice bath. Cut 3 equal pieces of string, and tie each one around each of the 3 pencils. Fill cooking pot with enough water to fill each jar ¾ full. Bring water to a boil and turn off stove. Add a tablespoon of borax and stir until it dissolves. Continue adding a tablespoon of borax until no more borax can dissolve. (Average 3 tbs.) Pour equal amounts into each jar, (Should be ¾ full) Lay pencil, with string attached, across each jar so the string hangs down into solution Cover jars with plastic wrap Place jar into the 3 different temperatures Leave jars alone for a minimum of 5 hours or until crystals form Carefully remove the pencilsa nd record size abd shape of the crystals. Record all observations.

Data Room Temp: O cm Ice Bucket: 4 cm Refrigerator: 3 cm

Graph

Conclusion Which temperature will create the largest crystals? I created a formula that if put in the correct temperature, will make crystals. I tested to see which temperature was correct. The Ice bath had the biggest crystals with 4 cm. The refrigerator had 3 cm, and the room temp didn’t grow at all. My data does not support my hypothesis because I thought room temperature would create the largest crystals. I learned that the colder the temperature the larger the crystals. It’s kind of like snow. I would make it more organized than I did. I kind of did it sloppily.

The End