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Ila Allred

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

21 February 2020

What Type of Sugar Produces the Largest Crystals?

Introduction

Surprisingly the average American person consumes one hundred and fifty-two pounds

of sugar per year, which is also three pounds per week (Youn)!

I wanted to see if different types of sugar crystalize the same and had the same effect on

the overall growth of the crystals. I was surprised that even though there were different sugars

used, they all crystallized and worked how they were supposed to in a few different sizes.

Making crystals was unexpectedly easy and was a fun process to watch them go through. ​I

thought that if you make rock candy with powdered sugar, brown sugar and organic white sugar,

then organic white sugar will make the largest crystal.

What Makes Certain Food Organic?

Organic foods leave out the bad chemicals and pesticides. Organic foods are much better

for you than regular food. In organic food there contains much more vitamins and nutrients that

are better for humans. Organic foods are always natural and have no bad products in it. Organic

foods come from natural produce such as plants and animals. Foods that are Organic, leave out

all the bad ingredients such as pesticides and bad chemicals. Organic foods must meet a certain

standard to be organic ​(Lewin).

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What Is the Difference Between Each Type Of Sugar?

Granulated white sugar has no color or smell to it. Granulated white sugar is about

ninety-nine percent glucose while brown sugar is a sucrose sugar that is mixed with molasses.

Brown sugar gets its color by molasses while white sugar gets its color by sugarcane stalks that

are later bleached to white. Brown sugar and white sugar have pros and cons to achieve its

texture. Brown sugar is also slightly healthier than white sugar because has less chemicals and

minerals than white sugar does ​(Parks).

Why Do Sugar Crystals Form?

Sugar crystals can only grow if they are in the right place and have the right supplies. The

growth is a very long process that requires time and patience. In a saturated solution sugar grains

can find each other easily because they are in a confined space. When you give the crystals

something to stick to they will find each other faster. After the grains find each other they form

together as one. The more the crystal grains form together as one, the bigger the overall crystal

will get. The sugar crystals repeatedly go through the same process to achieve its goal

(Littlebins).

How Do You Measure the Volume of Sugar Crystals?

First you start by finding a water-tight container. Then fill the container with water but still

leaving room at the top. Mark the water level with any type of pen. Then drop your item in and

wherever it goes, mark it again. Leave the item in for about thirty seconds until your item is

affected. Now that you know that the water level is higher when it’s underwater, the space is

between the two lines is what we know as the volume ​(wikiHow).

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How Does the Temperature Affect Sugar Crystal Formation?

The temperature plays a big part in sugar crystal formation, if not at the perfect temperature your

sugar crystals may not turn out the way you wanted them to. Sugar molecules dissolves quicker

in warmer water because the heat breaks them down. Warm air temperature also helps them

because the humidity can break them down. Sugar molecules move faster in hot water and then

begin to evaporate. Heat is the most beneficial because it helps the sugar crystals to break down

quicker and has a better feel on them ​(Barnhart).

What Does it Mean for Something to Dissolve and What Causes it?

When multiple substances combine they form to break down. When molecules come together

they start to mix and for a new liquid.When something dissolves, it is usually followed with

bubbles. When combined there could be a reaction right away or it could take a while later then

substances dissolve they let off energy to each other which causes them to shrink. The liquid that

dissolves items the most is water. Water is the best liquid because it contains both positive and

negative charges that are very helpful when dissolving ​(Lougee).

Conclusion

I thought that if you make rock candy with powdered sugar, brown sugar and organic

white sugar, then organic white sugar will make the largest crystal, and I found out that I was

wrong, actually brown sugar rose the largest. ​On average Brown Sugar was the highest rising, at

4.3 inches, powdered sugar was the medium rising, at 4 inches, organic white sugar was the

shortest rising, at 3 inches. I didn’t think that crystals could grow so large but it turned out that

they could which surprised me. I also didn’t think that if I used different types of sugar it would

change the color of the crystal. The last thing that surprised me was that even though there were
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different types of sugar they all rose and did their part in the growth production. This was a very

fun experiment that required patience and it also helped me to gain knowledge about crystals.
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Works Cited

Barnhart, Tracy. “How to Make Salt Crystals at Home.” ​Sciencing​, 2 Mar. 2019,

sciencing.com/make-salt-crystals-home-7777026.html.

Lewin, Jo. “What Does Organic Mean?” ​BBC Good Food​, 25 May 1970,

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/organic​.

Littlebins, et al. “Grow Sugar Crystals for Rock Candy ​Little Bins for Little Hands​, 13 June

2019, littlebinsforlittlehands.com/grow-sugar-crystals-rock-candy/. Edible Science.”

Lougee, Mary. “What Is the Definition of Dissolve in Chemistry?” ​Sciencing​, 2 Mar. 2019,

sciencing.com/what-is-the-definition-of-dissolve-in-chemistry-13712180.html.

Parks, Stella. “Cookie Science: The Real Differences Between Brown and White Sugars.”

Serious Eats​, Serious Eats, 1 Nov. 2019,

www.seriouseats.com/2015/12/faq-difference-brown-white-granulated-sugar-baking-coo

kies.html​.

wikiHow, wiki, and wiki. “How to Calculate the Volume of an Irregular Object.” ​WikiHow​,

WikiHow, 17 Nov. 2019, m.wikihow.com/Calculate-the-Volume-of-an-Irregular-Object.

Youn, Grace. “Daily Sugar Intake.” ​Google​, Google, 20 Feb. 2019,

www.google.com/amp/s/www.angelesinstitute.edu/thenightingale/daily-sugar-intake%3f

hs_amp=true
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