Science Projects With Candy

Science experiments help students understand the scientific concepts they learn by giving them a hands-on way to demonstrate them. One way to get kids even more interested in science is by experimenting with components that most kids enjoy. An example of this would be to use candy in a science experiment. Many candy experiments deal with chemical reactions and energy expenditure. Materials for candy science experiments are usually easy to find and inexpensive.

Crystal Formation and Rock Candy

Rock candy growing has been an activity for many years, and is a popular science project. Making rock candy involves crystal formation and evaporation. To make rock candy, you need sugar, water, a saucepan, wooden spoon, candy thermometer, glass jar, measuring cup, cotton string, wax paper, pencils, and some kind of weight to tie to the string, such as a washer or nail.

Because this experiment involves using the stove and handling very hot liquid, children should have adult supervision during the cooking process. Boil two cups of water in the pan, then mix with four cups of sugar. Stir this mixture with the wooden spoon continuously until the solution turns clear and comes to a rolling boil. Then pour the mixture into the jar and cover the jar opening with wax paper. Next, cut the string so that it is two-thirds the height of the jar. Tie the string to the pencil, then tie the other end with a weight. Then dip the string into the mixture and lay it out straight on wax paper for a couple of days. After it dries, place the string into the solution again and leave it alone for a week so the sugar crystals can grow.

Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser

This candy experiment gained popularity with people in the mid-2000s, and its fame was solidified when the Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters" re-created the experiment on the television show. For this experiment, you need a bottle of diet cola and some Mentos candy mints. This experiment should be done outside because it will be messy.

Place the diet soda on a table or the ground and open it. Then, drop all the Mentos from the tube into the diet soda at once, either with a funnel, paper tube, or a store-bought Mentos geyser plastic tube. After they're all in, stand back and watch the geyser spew.

There has yet to be a consensus about why this geyser happens and how, but many experts agree that the reaction results from the release of pressure from carbon dioxide as it reacts to the mints. Some projects that can derive from this include measuring which brand of soda has the highest geyser and whether other candy creates the same reaction.

Friction and Mints

Wintergreen LifeSavers mints are known to create a spark when crunched. This spark is the result of a process called triboluminescence. Triboluminescence is the act of creating light with friction. Crunching on the mints creates stress within the sugar crystals of the candy, resulting in electrical fields. These electrical fields produce ultraviolet lights. The wintergreen oil in wintergreen LifeSavers causes ultraviolet light to convert to visible light, allowing you to see the spark when crunching mints in the dark. Variations on this experiment could be seeing whether outside temperatures affect the amount of light emitted or whether certain brands of mints create more light than others.