[♪ INTRO]
Oh hey, Squeaks!
I’m about ready to show off my new hobby.
I’ve been practicing candy-making, and it involves a lot of chemistry.
Chemistry is a type of science where you can observe different materials,
and figure out how they can change.
Like today, we’re taking sugar and water, heating them up,
and changing them into something new: candy!
[Squeaks squeaks]
I think you’re really going to like it.
Let’s make some rock candy!
You can try this project at home, too.
To make rock candy, we need a jar or a glass, a spoon, a clean wooden chopstick,
a clothespin; 1 cup, or about 240 milliliters, of water;
3 cups, or 600 grams, of sugar; and a pot.
You’ll also need a grown-up helper before starting this project,
since you’ll need to use the stove.
Can I be your grown-up helper for today’s project, Squeaks?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Awesome, let’s get started.
First, we’re going to heat up one cup of water in a pot on our hot plate.
You can use the stove.
Once it starts boiling and bubbling, it’s ready for the next step.
When the water is boiling, we’ll pour in some of our sugar,
a little bit at a time, and use the spoon to stir the sugar in.
If you look closely at our sugar, you’ll notice that it’s a pile of crystals.
Crystals are kind of see-through, are hard like rocks,
and are made of a lot of straight lines.
When I stir the sugar into the hot water, the water pulls those
sugar crystals apart into smaller and smaller pieces,
until they’re so tiny, you can’t even see the sugar anymore!
When you can’t see it anymore, we say that the sugar has dissolved.
Now we’ll keep adding sugar to the boiling water,
and keep stirring, until no more sugar will dissolve.
...and now, we’re ready for the next step!
We’re going to let this solution cool down,
and then prepare the rest of our set-up.
[Squeaks squeaks]
Oh, thank you for asking Squeaks!
A solution is what you get when something
like sugar dissolves into something different, like water.
Solutions can be made of lots of things, though.
Like, if we mixed salt into our water,
that would also be a solution!
For this next part, I’m going to dip my chopstick in water,
and then roll it in a little bit of sugar.
Now, I’ll hold this chopstick in the jar, so the chopstick
is a little ways off of the bottom of the glass.
I’ll use this clothespin to hold the chopstick in place.
Alright, that looks pretty secure.
Once the sugar-water solution has cooled down to room temperature,
have your grown-up helper pour it into the jar,
leaving some room at the top.
Now comes the longest step: We wait.
You see, water can pull apart sugar crystals better when it’s hot.
That's why sugar dissolves better in boiling water than it does in cold water.
As we keep waiting, our sugar water solution is going to cool down.
And eventually, the cold water won't be able to keep the sugar
dissolved anymore and our invisible sugar... will reappear!
Now if you remember, our sugar never actually disappeared.
The crystals just got so teeny tiny, we couldn't see them anymore.
But as our solution gets colder, those little pieces of sugar
will grab onto each other again and grow into bigger crystals —
even bigger than the ones we started with!
We call this crystallization!
The sugar will start to crystalize on different surfaces,
like the walls of the jar, or...
[Squeaks squeaks]
Exactly! The chopstick!
Over time, bigger and bigger sugar crystals will start to grow
on the chopstick, and they’ll harden into candy.
This type of candy is called rock candy, because the sugar grows
in hard, crunchy, rock-like crystals.
[Squeaks squeaks]
Candy-makers are good chemists!
But they also have to be patient to make rock candy.
We have to wait a week or two for the sugar to crystalize.
But when they’re done, they'll look like this!
I have one for me, and one for you, Squeaks!
You’re welcome, buddy.
We can enjoy these, and then, if you’d like,
you can help me make a batch for all of our friends.
[Squeaks squeaks]
Candy-making is a great science project.
If you and a grown-up helper are able to try it out,
try writing down your observations.
Like: how quickly do you need to stir the water to dissolve the sugar?
And how many days does it take the sugar to crystalize?
And best yet, is the rock candy tasty?
Good luck with your observations, and remember, if you’d like to
keep learning with me, Squeaks, and all of our friends,
click the subscribe button.
We’ll see you next time, here at The Fort.
[♪ OUTRO]