Sweet Science!
By Maddie Flanagan, Alyssa Fudge, and Victoria Tuffy
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Materials
*makes ABOUT 4 servings*
Wooden sticks/skewers
6 cups granulated sugar
Mason or glass jars
2 cups water
2 to 3 drops of food coloring
½ to 1 teaspoon flavoring extract (or Kool-Aid packets)
Clothespins
Plastic wrap/paper towel
Procedure
Prepare jars and sticks
Make the sugar syrup:
Wet each wood stick with water and roll it in a layer of sugar (base layer)
Boil 2 cups of water and then add the sugar 1 cup at a time, stirring after each cup. Continue until all the sugar is dissolved.
Add flavoring extract or Kool-Aid packets.
Leave the sugar syrup to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.
Clean jars with hot water and pour the sugar syrup into them.
Put 1 wooden stick in each jar that hangs about 1 inch from the bottom of the jar. Balance clothespins on the top of the jar to hold the stick in place.
Place the jars in a cool place where they can sit for a few hours away from bright lights. Cover the top of the jar loosely with plastic wrap or paper towel.
Crystals should start to form in 2-4 hours. If not, repeat the process.
Let the rock candy grow to the size you want, but not too big that it reaches the side of the jar. The final results can take 3-7 days.
A top layer of crystal will form. When the rock candy is ready, break the top layer of crystal with a fork before removing the candy from the jar.
Place the rock candy in an empty jar using the clothespins to balance it and let it dry for 1-2 hours.
Stay Safe!
The stove will be extremely hot so make sure to ask your parents to help boil the water!
Food coloring can stain your clothing so be careful not to spill!
WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR A DEMONSTRATION!
How does it work?
A saturated solution is a mixture that contains the maximum amount of solute (what you’re dissolving) that is possible at room temperature.
When making rock candy, you make a supersaturated solution by heating up the sugar. Why is that? Heat provides enough energy to break apart the molecules that make up a solute. So, when they’re in smaller pieces, they’re more readily able to dissolve.
As it cools and comes back down to room temperature, these particles that were previously unstable because of the amount of energy they had, want to come back together and exist at a stable state. So, they start to solidify. The molecules solidifying is what become the crystals that you see on your sticks!
Resources:
LaBau, Elizabeth. “How to Make Homemade Rock Candy.” The Spruce Eats, 8 Feb. 2021, www.thespruceeats.com/rock-candy-521016.
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