Crystals
Crystals have fascinated people for thousands of years! Many people think of crystals as decorative pieces of glass, but scientifically speaking, they have a different meaning. In short, a crystal is an arrangement of atoms that form a regular three dimensional pattern.
Crystal Growing Experiment
We will grow crystals in a lab experiment and relate our results to what we learn about crystals as we explore the branch of science known as crystallography.
Exploring Crystallography
Read the entire page, Crystallography in a Nutshell, then use any remaining time to explore the links from this page to learn more about the related topics you find most interesting. Take notes as you research to help you write your blog post.
Instructions
1) Read the lab procedures carefully in the document attached to this page. Pay particular attention to the safety warnings, and be sure to ask questions if anything is unclear to you.
2) Create a blog post in the Academic Blog after researching crystallography. The purpose of this post is to reflect on what you have learned about crystals and to share your insights with your peers. Make sure that it meets each of the requirements below.
a) Follow all of our blogging guidelines including giving your post an appropriate title. Mark it as part of the Chemistry category.
b) Share in your own words what you have learned about crystals.
c) Observe the crystals you grew in the experiment, and share your observations. Be sure to focus on quantitative and/or qualitative observations that relate to our study of crystals.
d) Specifically relate your new knowledge of crystals to your observations. How do the crystals you grew relate to your understanding of crystals?
e) Read at least three posts written by your peers, and comment on them if you have something to share. Make sure that you follow our commenting guidelines.
More Information
This is a three dimensional model of borax, setraborate decahydrate.
Na2B4O7·10H2O
If you would like to continue to explore growing borax crystals, you may want to visit Steve Spangler Science: Borax Crystal Star/Snowflake. Be sure to have parental permission and supervision if you wish to experiment at home.