Ali

=**Title:**=

Crystals in Action! =**Introduction:**= I am going to test copper sulfate crystals one of the quickest and easiest, crystals to grow VS. Rock candy rock candy is one of the known fastest crystal candy in it's growth. =**Hypothesis:**= I am predicting that copper sulfate will win this race but I am also thinking that the rock candy could win

=Materials:= Copper sulfate a jar hot water
 * 3 cups sugar
 * 1 cup water
 * clean glass jar
 * cotton string
 * pencil or knife
 * food coloring (optional)
 * 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp flavoring oil or extract (optional)
 * Lifesaver candy (optional)
 * pan
 * stove or microwave

=**Method/Procedures:**= 1. get a jar of hot water and drop copper sulfate until no more can dissolve 2 .then you start the seed crystal Pour a little of the saturated copper sulfate solution into a saucer or shallow dish. Allow it to sit in an undisturbed location for several hours or overnight. Select the best crystal as your 'seed' for growing a large crystal. Scrape the crystal off of the container and tie it to a length of nylon fishing line. 3. Suspend the seed crystal in a clean jar that you have filled with the solution you made earlier. Don't allow any undissolved copper sulfate to spill into the jar. Don't let the seed crystal touch the sides or bottom of the jar. 4.Place the jar in a location where it won't be disturbed. You can set a coffee filter or paper towel over the top of the container, but allow air circulation so that the liquid can evaporate. 5.check on the crystals everyday
 * Copper sulfate crystals**
 * Rock candy**
 * 1) Pour the sugar and water into the pan.
 * 2) Heat the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. You want the sugar solution to hit boiling, but not get hotter or cook too long. If you overheat the sugar solution you'll make hard candy, which is nice, but not what we're going for here.
 * 3) Stir the solution until all the sugar has dissolved. The liquid will be clear or straw-colored, without any sparkly sugar. If you can get even more sugar to dissolve, that's good, too.
 * 4) If desired, you can add food coloring and flavoring to the solution. Mint, cinnamon, or lemon extract are good flavorings to try. Squeezing the juice from a lemon, orange, or lime is a way to give the crystals natural flavor, but the acid and other sugars in the juice may slow your crystal formation.
 * 5) Set the pot of sugar syrup in the refrigerator to cool. You want the liquid to be about 50°F (slightly cooler than room temperature). Sugar becomes less soluble as it cools, so chilling the mixture will make it so there is less chance of accidentally dissolving sugar you are about to coat on your string.
 * 6) While the sugar solution is cooling, prepare your string. You are using cotton string because it is rough and non-toxic. Tie the string to a pencil, knife, or other object that can rest across the top of the jar. You want the string to hang into the jar, but not touch the sides or bottom.
 * 7) You don't want to weight your string with anything toxic, so rather than use a metal object, you can tie a Lifesaver to the bottom of the string.
 * 8) Whether you are using the Lifesaver or not, you want to 'seed' the string with crystals so that the rock candy will form on the string rather than on the sides and bottom of the jar. There are two easy ways to do this. One is to dampen the string with a little of the syrup you just made and dip the string in sugar. Another option is to soak the string in the syrup and then hang it to dry, which will cause crystals to form naturally (this method produces 'chunkier' rock candy crystals).
 * 9) Once your solution has cooled, pour it into the clean jar. Suspend the seeded string in the liquid. Set the jar somewhere quiet. You can cover the jar with a paper towel or coffee filter to keep the solution clean.
 * 10) Check on your crystals, but don't disturb them. You can remove them to dry and eat when you are satisfied with the size of your rock candy. Ideally you want to allow the crystals to grow for 3-7 days.

=Analysis:= So far the rock candy is winning with it's big size and the Copper sulfate unfortunately hasn't grown quite big at all. Well if the experiment keeps going the way it is going then you can't always believe websites.

=**Conclusions/References:**= My conclusion is that rock candy is faster than copper sulfate crystals

"Swarovski - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. . Johnsen, Ole. //Minerals of the World (Princeton Field Guides)//. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. Print. Holden, Alan, and Phylis Morrison. "5." //Crystals and Crystal Growing//. New Ed ed. London: The Mit Press, 1982. 108-120. Print. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, and Ph.D.. "Rock Candy - How to Make Flavored Rock Candy." //Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. . Helmenstine, Anne Marie, and Ph.D.. "Copper Sulfate Crystals - How to Grow Blue Copper Sulfate Crystals." //Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. .