Author: Maddie Van Beek
http://rlv.zcache.com/geek_nerd_science_happy_valentines_day_postcard-r2a84d261375844f4a2bf5ab8c1a6ad7c_vg8ns_8byvr_1024.jpg
Today, we are going to perform some experiments on some Valentine's candy and make a DIY crystal Valentine gift for someone!
Candy Hearts Experiment
In this experiment, you will determine whether candy hearts react with baking soda or vinegar. You are looking for a chemical reaction.
http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/7468087a-4bf9-43c9-8752-2ddab6b954e2/18cfe054-2f4d-4571-a9c4-10ca2585c2d6.jpg
A chemical reaction...
* Occurs between two or more atoms or molecules
* Causes bonds between atoms to break
* Forms new bonds
* Creates new molecules
Basically, two substances interact to create a new form or substance.
Read this link for more information on chemical reactions:
A chemical reaction...
* Occurs between two or more atoms or molecules
* Causes bonds between atoms to break
* Forms new bonds
* Creates new molecules
Basically, two substances interact to create a new form or substance.
Read this link for more information on chemical reactions:
Now that you know a little bit about chemical reactions, let’s move on to our experiment!
YOU WILL NEED:
* Candy hearts (Sweethearts brand)
* Vinegar
* Baking soda
* Water
* Two bowls
* Glass
* Measuring cups
Here's what to do!
1. Place a few candy hearts in each bowl.
2. Add 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon baking soda to your glass. Stir until the baking soda dissolves.
3. Pour 1/2 cup vinegar into the first bowl. Observe what happens.
4. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda water into the second bowl. Observe what happens.
5. Which addition caused a chemical reaction, the baking soda water or the vinegar? Why do you think this is? Write down your thoughts.
So, you noticed that your candy hearts react with the baking soda water and not with the vinegar. What does that tell you? What else reacts with baking soda? Think back to other science experiments you may have done in the past. For more info, take a look at this blog we posted back in 2014:
YOU WILL NEED:
* Candy hearts (Sweethearts brand)
* Vinegar
* Baking soda
* Water
* Two bowls
* Glass
* Measuring cups
Here's what to do!
1. Place a few candy hearts in each bowl.
2. Add 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon baking soda to your glass. Stir until the baking soda dissolves.
3. Pour 1/2 cup vinegar into the first bowl. Observe what happens.
4. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda water into the second bowl. Observe what happens.
5. Which addition caused a chemical reaction, the baking soda water or the vinegar? Why do you think this is? Write down your thoughts.
So, you noticed that your candy hearts react with the baking soda water and not with the vinegar. What does that tell you? What else reacts with baking soda? Think back to other science experiments you may have done in the past. For more info, take a look at this blog we posted back in 2014:
Now that you know candy hearts react with baking soda, you are going to figure out WHY they react with baking soda. What ingredient in a candy heart might be causing this reaction? Take a look at the ingredients on the back of your candy hearts package.
I found that candy hearts contain these ingredients:
* Sugar
* Corn syrup
* Dextrose
* Glycerine
* Artificial and natural flavors
* Gelatin
* Vegetable gums (tragacanth, xanthan, arabic)
* Citric acid
* Artificial colors (red 3, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, blue 1)
You are going to test each of these ingredients separately to see which one is causing the chemical reaction.
YOU WILL NEED:
* Muffin tin (or several small bowls)
* Baking soda
* Sugar
* Corn Syrup
* Lemon juice
* Glycerine
* Water
* Food coloring
I found that candy hearts contain these ingredients:
* Sugar
* Corn syrup
* Dextrose
* Glycerine
* Artificial and natural flavors
* Gelatin
* Vegetable gums (tragacanth, xanthan, arabic)
* Citric acid
* Artificial colors (red 3, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, blue 1)
You are going to test each of these ingredients separately to see which one is causing the chemical reaction.
YOU WILL NEED:
* Muffin tin (or several small bowls)
* Baking soda
* Sugar
* Corn Syrup
* Lemon juice
* Glycerine
* Water
* Food coloring
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/candy-heart-ingredients.jpg
Here's what to do!
1. Put one teaspoon of sugar in one muffin cup and label it “sugar.” Put one teaspoon of corn syrup in the second muffin cup and label it “corn syrup.” Continue this process with the lemon juice, glycerine, and food coloring.
2. Add 1/4 cup water to each ingredient. In the sixth muffin cup, add 1/4 cup plain water.
3. Stir each ingredient until it dissolves in the water.
4. Now you get to start testing!
5. Add a spoonful of baking soda to each muffin cup. What happens? Which one reacts?
You should have noticed that the muffin cup with the lemon juice produced fizzing bubbles! There’s your chemical reaction! Remember, lemon juice contains citric acid. The citric acid in the candy hearts is what caused them to react with the baking soda water in your first experiment. Baking soda is a base. When acids and bases are mixed together, they react. That reaction produces carbon dioxide gas. You saw that gas in the form of those fizzy bubbles.
Another acid-base reaction that you have probably seen before is between baking soda and vinegar. Mix them together for more fizzy fun!
Now that you've performed some experiments, you get to use your crafty skills to make a valentine decoration!
Crystal Heart
You are actually going to create a crystal decorative heart by first boiling borax and then letting it crystallize.
1. Put one teaspoon of sugar in one muffin cup and label it “sugar.” Put one teaspoon of corn syrup in the second muffin cup and label it “corn syrup.” Continue this process with the lemon juice, glycerine, and food coloring.
2. Add 1/4 cup water to each ingredient. In the sixth muffin cup, add 1/4 cup plain water.
3. Stir each ingredient until it dissolves in the water.
4. Now you get to start testing!
5. Add a spoonful of baking soda to each muffin cup. What happens? Which one reacts?
You should have noticed that the muffin cup with the lemon juice produced fizzing bubbles! There’s your chemical reaction! Remember, lemon juice contains citric acid. The citric acid in the candy hearts is what caused them to react with the baking soda water in your first experiment. Baking soda is a base. When acids and bases are mixed together, they react. That reaction produces carbon dioxide gas. You saw that gas in the form of those fizzy bubbles.
Another acid-base reaction that you have probably seen before is between baking soda and vinegar. Mix them together for more fizzy fun!
Now that you've performed some experiments, you get to use your crafty skills to make a valentine decoration!
Crystal Heart
You are actually going to create a crystal decorative heart by first boiling borax and then letting it crystallize.
http://f.tqn.com/y/laundry/1/W/a/W/-/-/Borax-Heart-BIG.jpg
What is borax?
Borax (short for boric acid) is a white mineral that is often used for cleaning. In its natural form, it is actually a crystal. Large borax deposits are found in California and Turkey, but borax is also commonly found in Tibet, Romania, and Bolivia.
Borax crystal can be white or clear. Below is an example of white borax:
Borax (short for boric acid) is a white mineral that is often used for cleaning. In its natural form, it is actually a crystal. Large borax deposits are found in California and Turkey, but borax is also commonly found in Tibet, Romania, and Bolivia.
Borax crystal can be white or clear. Below is an example of white borax:
 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Borax_crystals.jpg |
Here's a little bit more about borax:
What is crystallization?
We've seen crystallization in action when we created crystal egg geodes or when we made our own rock candy.
You are going to create a borax solution by adding borax to boiling water. When you add borax to water, it will dissolve. If you keep adding borax, eventually there will be a point that no more will dissolve. At this point, your borax solution is saturated. If you keep adding borax, it will just sink to the bottom and the solution becomes supersaturated. This means that the liquid in the solution contains more solute (borax) than it can hold. A supersaturated solution is unstable, so it produces a precipitate. A precipitate is a solid that is produced from a solution. In this case, the precipitate is your borax crystal.
YOU WILL NEED:
* Borax (Find it in the same area as the detergents in your local grocery store)
* Food coloring
* Pipe cleaner
* Water
* Saucepan
* Stove
Here's what to do!
1. Boil water in a saucepan on the stove. (Make sure you ask an adult for help)
2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, create a heart (or whatever shape you want) out of your pipe cleaner. When you’re finished creating your shape, place it in a glass jar.
3. Once the water boils, add borax. Stir until the borax dissolves. Continue adding borax until it will no longer dissolve. You’ll know your solution is supersaturated when the borax just sinks to the bottom. Remove the solution from the stove and add food coloring (optional).
4. Pour the borax solution into the glass jar. Make sure your pipe cleaner shape is completely submerged.
5. Leave the jar undisturbed for 24 hours.
6. Check back the next day. What happened?! Dump the borax solution down the drain and remove your crystal heart.
References
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-candy-heart-reactions/
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-candy-heart-ingredients-experiment/
http://fun-a-day.com/candy-heart-experiments-valentines-day/
http://chemistry.about.com/od/valentinesdaychemistry/a/Borax-Crystal-Heart.htm
We've seen crystallization in action when we created crystal egg geodes or when we made our own rock candy.
You are going to create a borax solution by adding borax to boiling water. When you add borax to water, it will dissolve. If you keep adding borax, eventually there will be a point that no more will dissolve. At this point, your borax solution is saturated. If you keep adding borax, it will just sink to the bottom and the solution becomes supersaturated. This means that the liquid in the solution contains more solute (borax) than it can hold. A supersaturated solution is unstable, so it produces a precipitate. A precipitate is a solid that is produced from a solution. In this case, the precipitate is your borax crystal.
YOU WILL NEED:
* Borax (Find it in the same area as the detergents in your local grocery store)
* Food coloring
* Pipe cleaner
* Water
* Saucepan
* Stove
Here's what to do!
1. Boil water in a saucepan on the stove. (Make sure you ask an adult for help)
2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, create a heart (or whatever shape you want) out of your pipe cleaner. When you’re finished creating your shape, place it in a glass jar.
3. Once the water boils, add borax. Stir until the borax dissolves. Continue adding borax until it will no longer dissolve. You’ll know your solution is supersaturated when the borax just sinks to the bottom. Remove the solution from the stove and add food coloring (optional).
4. Pour the borax solution into the glass jar. Make sure your pipe cleaner shape is completely submerged.
5. Leave the jar undisturbed for 24 hours.
6. Check back the next day. What happened?! Dump the borax solution down the drain and remove your crystal heart.
References
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-candy-heart-reactions/
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-candy-heart-ingredients-experiment/
http://fun-a-day.com/candy-heart-experiments-valentines-day/
http://chemistry.about.com/od/valentinesdaychemistry/a/Borax-Crystal-Heart.htm
