Title: Does Sugar Grow?
Hypothesis: (You fill in.)
Materials and Procedure:
- 4 cups of regular sugar + 1 cup water (or any 4:1 ratio of sugar to water)
- glass container(s) that can withstand heat (like a mason jar or empty pickle jar). Clean your jars with hot water.
- food coloring (optional)
- string
- pencil or plastic straw
- Cut pieces string a little longer than your jars. Tie one end of the string to a straw/pencil. Tie a knot in the other end.
- Get the strings wet and coat them in sugar. Let them dry a few hours or overnight.
- Add the sugar and water to a saucepan and heat until boiling. This will form your supersaturated solution. Stir until the sugar is dissolved but be careful not to heat the sugar so much that it starts to turn into candy. Keep the temperature right at 210 degrees. Remove the sugar from the heat.
- Pour the sugar mixture into the prepared jar(s). Add edible food coloring to each jar (optional).
- Lower the string into the jar. Store your jar in a safe place.
- Check on your crystals after a day. You should be able to see the beginnings of crystal growth on the string. Let them form for at least a week.
- 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.
