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Ah, the sweet taste of science at work! Create shimmering sugar crystals with an
experiment that really rocks!
You'll need:
- a piece of string
- granulated sugar
- tablespoon
- a glass bead or other small object
- small jar
- 1/2 cup of very hot water
- a pencil
What to do:
- Fill the jar with hot water and stir in a spoonful of sugar at a time until the sugar no
longer dissolves.
- Thread the string through the bead and tie a knot at its end. The bead will act as a weight.
- Wrap the other end of the string around a pencil. Rest the pencil on the mouth of the jar and
allow the bead to dangle in the sugar water. The bead should not touch the bottom of the jar.
- Place the jar in a warm place and let the sugar water stand undisturbed for a week or more.
After a few days, you might have to carefully break and remove the crust of sugar crystals at the
top so that the water can continue evaporating.
What happens:
Cube-shaped sugar crystals form on the string--you've made rock candy!
Why this happens:
Water molecules move slowly up into the air as water vapor during the process of
evaporation. As more and more water evaporates, sugar atoms draw close together, forming
cube-shaped sugar crystals. And that's just what you'll see left behind on the string after the
water is all gone!
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