Crystals!! | Home Chemistry

For science today, we had to make crystals. First, we had brainstormed of 'what are the kitchen equipment' that we can make crystals out of. Here's what we've discussed:

• Sugar
• Salt
• Borax
• Jelly
• Brown Sugar
• Roro

Aim: To learn about a saturated solution and how to make crystals


Definition of crystals:
A liquid mixture, when something is dissolved into a liquid. (eg: sugar in water)

Definition of saturated:
Having or holding as much as can be absorbed or something. (when no more sugar or borax can be dissolved into the water)


Materials:

1. Pipe cleaner
2. String
3. Pegs
4. Styrofoam Cups
5. Borax
6. Sugar
7. Salt

Borax Crystals

Borax Crystals

Borax Crystals time-lapse video

Ratio; 3 Tablespoons Borax per 1/2 cup water

Materials

1) Borax

2) 1 Styrofoam cup

3) 3 Pipe Cleaners

4) 1 String Stick

5) 1 peg

Process

Step 1: Get a cup and put three tablespoons of borax. Label your cup. (if more than one person is doing the experiment)

Step 2: Pour 1/2 cup of warm water.

Step 3: Mix the borax for 15 minutes. 

Step 4: After you've mixed your borax for fifteen-minutes, make a star out of three pipe cleaners.

Step 5: Get a peg and clip on the longest piece of the pipe cleaner. 

Step 6: Put the peg sideways in the middle of the cup, so half of the star is in the borax and half is out of the borax.

Step 7: Put the cup somewhere to sit to grow.

Step 8: After a week, your crystal would've have grown.

Sugar Crystals

Sugar crystals video

Ratio: 1 cup sugar to 1/2 cup water

Materials

1) Sugar

2) 1 stirring stick

3) 1 styrofoam cup

4) 1 string

5) 1 spoon

Process

Step 1: Get a cup and put 1 cup of sugar. Label your cup. (if more than one person is doing the experiment)

Step 2: Pour 1/2 cup of warm water.

Step 3: Mix the sugar for 15 minutes. 

Step 4: After you've stirred the sugar for 15 minutes. Get your stirring stick and tie it with the string.

Step 5: Put your cup somewhere to sit to grow.

Step 8: After a week, your crystal would've have grown.

Salt Crystals

Salt crystals time-lapse video

Ratio: 4 Tablespoons salt to 1/2 cup water

Materials

1) Salt

2) 1 stirring stick

3) 1 styrofoam cup

4) 1 string

5) 1 spoon

Process

Step 1: Get a cup and put 4 tablespoons of salt. Label your cup. (if more than one person is doing the experiment)

Step 2: Pour 1/2 cup of warm water.

Step 3: Mix the salt for 15 minutes. 

Step 4: After you've stirred the salt for 15 minutes. 

Step 5: Get your stirring stick and tie it with the string.

Step 6: Put your cup somewhere to sit to grow.

Step 8: After a week, your crystal would've have grown.

Findings

Describe your crystals in the table below.

Crystal Type	Shape (Describe the shape)	Size (of individual crystals)	Hardness (Crumbly to Rock Hard)
Borax	Cube	Small	Medium to Hard
Sugar	Cube	Small
Salt	Cube	Small

What crystals worked out best and why?:






Conclusion:






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After watching the videos as a class, explain how the following crystals are formed:

Type	Explanation
Salt	Salt is formed by salt water (ocean water) coming to the land which makes ponds from salt water. After the water evaporates and salt is left in the pond. People who work there collects the salt with a shovel and digs up the salt.
Sugar	Sugar is made from sugarcane. Sugarcanes are cut down and put them in machines. They take all of the sugar out from the sugar. That's how raw sugar is made. After the put the raw sugar and make them into white sugar.
Snowflakes	Snowflakes forms when an extremely cold water droplets freeze to pollen or a dust particle in the sky. This is when ice crystals are created. As the ice falls to the ground, water vapour freezes to the primary crystal, which makes new crystals - the six arms of the snowflake.

CRYSTAL TYPES

AIM: TO LOOK AT THE 7 DIFFERENT TYPES OF CRYSTALS

Salt Crystals

Sugar Crystals

Borax Crystals

7 different crystal shapes

The 7 types of crystals

Type	Number of sides	Picture	2 EXAMPLES
Monoclinic	10		Mica Orthoclase
Hexagonal	8		Quartz Beryl
Orthorhombic	6		Sulfur Topaz
Trigonal	10		Olgite Senaite
Cubic	6		Betafite Bixbyite
Triclinic	7		Albite Rhodnite