Crystals

Aim: to learn about a saturated solution and how to make crystals.

Crystal video

Definition of solution: 

A liquid mixture, when something is dissolved into a liquid (eg: sugar in water) 

Definition of saturated: 

Having or holding as much as can be absorbed of something (when no more sugar or borax can be dissolved into the water)

In groups of three you will make three different types of crystals and compare the results.

Borax Crystals

Borax Crystals time lapse video

Ratio; 3 Tablespoons Borax per 1/2 cup water

Materials

1) Pipe Cleaner

2)String

3)Pegs

4) Cups

5) Borax

6) Sugar

7) Salt

Process

Step 1: Shape the Pipe cleaners into star shape.

Step 2: Hang star on a peg.

Step 3:Make up borax solution.

Step 4:Label your cup

Step 5:

Step 6:

Sugar Crystals

Sugar crystals video

Ratio: 1 cup sugar to 1/2 cup water

Materials

1) Pipe Cleaner

2)String

3)Pegs

4) Cups

5) Borax

6) Sugar

7) Salt

Process

Step 1: Shape the Pipe cleaners into star shape.

Step 2: Hang star on a peg.

Step 3:Make up borax solution.

Step 4:Label your cup

Step 5:

Step 6:

Salt Crystals

Salt crystals time lapse video

Ratio: 4 Tablespoons salt to 1/2 cup water

Materials

1) Pipe Cleaner

2)String

3)Pegs

4) Cups

5) Borax

6) Sugar

7) Salt

Process

Step 1: Shape the Pipe cleaners into star shape.

Step 2: Hang star on a peg.

Step 3:Make up borax solution.

Step 4:Label your cup

Step 5: Hang star into borax

Step 6:

Findings

Describe your crystals in the table below.

Crystal Type	Shape (Describe the shape)	Size (of individual crystals)	Hardness (Crumbly to Rock Hard)
Borax
Sugar
Salt

What crystals worked out best and why?:

Conclusion:

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After watching the videos as a class, explain how the following crystals are formed:

Type	Explanation
Salt	It is typically formed by the evaporation of salty water (such as sea water) which contains dissolved Na+ and Cl- ions. One finds rock salt deposits ringing dry lake beds, inland marginal seas, and enclosed bays and estuaries in arid regions of the world.
Sugar	As the water evaporates, the solution becomes more saturated and sugar molecules will continue to come out of the solution and collect on the seed crystals on the string. The rock candy crystals grow molecule by molecule.
Snowflakes	A snowflake begins to form when an extremely cold water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky. This creates an ice crystal. As the ice crystal falls to the ground, water vapor freezes onto the primary crystal, building new crystals – the six arms of the snowflake.

CRYSTAL TYPES

AIM: TO LOOK AT THE 7 DIFFERENT TYPES OF CRYSTALS

Salt Crystals

Sugar Crystals

Borax Crystals

7 different crystal shapes

The 7 types of crystals

Type	Number of sides	2 examples	Image
Triclinic	7	Turquoise Rhodonite
Monoclinic	7	three axes unequal lengths
Orthombic	7	of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometrical arrangement having three unequal axes at right angles.
Trigonal	7	of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometrical arrangement having three equal axes separated by equal angles that are not right angles.
Hexagonal	7	of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometrical arrangement having three axes of equal length separated by 60° and a fourth axis of a different length at right angles to these
Cubic	7	A cube has six equal, square-shaped sides. Cubes also have eight vertices (corners) and twelve edges, all the same length. The angles in a cube are all right angles. Objects that are cube-shaped include building blocks and dice.
Tetragonal	7	In crystallography, the tetragonal crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems. Tetragonal crystal lattices result from stretching a cubic lattice along one of its lattice vectors, so that the cube becomes a rectangular prism with a square base (a by a) and height (c, which is different from a).