Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I'm working on a science project for 5th grade. We want to see if sugar crystals grow faster in tap, distilled or seltzer water, assuming same amount of water and sugar are used. However, all instructions I'm reading about this project use boiling water. Do we have to boil all 3 types of water for this project or can we can do it without boiling water?

Hello, I have linked to two articles. The first is the science buddies link to a similar project and the second is to an exploratorium page which provides a brief explanation as to why/how the sugar crystalizes onto the string.

It is not entirely necessary to boil the water as some of the crystallization is a result of water evaporation, however a larger amount of sugar will build up on the string if the water is boiled because it can then contain more sugar (which will precipitate/fall out into the water). So the short answer is you should probably boil the water, and the long answer is that it is perhaps not necessary — but I wouldn't bank on it working. It would be interesting to try if you have time for a jar of water to fully evaporate, but if not, I would recommend boiling them all.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ls#summary

https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/c ... k-pop.html

I hope this helps! Claire

Its all can happen only if you boil water. If instruction says it, you should do it with all 3 types of water