Crystal project conclusions are not crystal clear!!!

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kcoat
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:55 pm
Occupation: Mother
Project Question: I am not a science pr son and my son with lesrning differences has done a project and we cannot figure out what the conclusions should be. Hypothesis is that epsom salt crystals will grow faster in garage over fridge, freezer and counter. It is slightly thicker and cloudy water. So is conclusion just answering yes it grew more or do we need also to answer why and if so, is it because it was temp difference or humidity or why?
Project Due Date: First thing in morn
Project Status: I am finished with my experiment and analyzing the data

Crystal project conclusions are not crystal clear!!!

Post by kcoat »

I am helping my special needs ) learning differences) child with science experiment and I cannot figure out how to help him make his conclusions. He did epsom salt crystals and hypothesis was one in garage would grow most. So do we put why it did this like light or temp but temp varied from super cold to warm. I have no idea why.
kcoat
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:55 pm
Occupation: Mother
Project Question: I am not a science pr son and my son with lesrning differences has done a project and we cannot figure out what the conclusions should be. Hypothesis is that epsom salt crystals will grow faster in garage over fridge, freezer and counter. It is slightly thicker and cloudy water. So is conclusion just answering yes it grew more or do we need also to answer why and if so, is it because it was temp difference or humidity or why?
Project Due Date: First thing in morn
Project Status: I am finished with my experiment and analyzing the data

Crystal project conclusions are not crystal clear!!!

Post by kcoat »

I am helping my special needs ) learning differences) child with science experiment and I cannot figure out how to help him make his conclusions. He did epsom salt crystals and hypothesis was one in garage would grow most. So do we put why it did this like light or temp but temp varied from super cold to warm. I have no idea why.
kgudger
Moderator
Posts: 421
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:20 pm
Occupation: electronic engineer
Project Question: n/a
Project Due Date: n/a
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: Crystal project conclusions are not crystal clear!!!

Post by kgudger »

Hello and welcome to the forums:

In science, our results our often not clear, so it's OK that you don't have a definite answer. You suggest that large swings in temperature affected the outcome, and that sounds reasonable. Did you do this experiment? https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ml#summary If so, you can see that temperature is the variable that you compare crystal growth to. If you have a specific question about your results, please let us know. Thanks.

Keith
amynshyla
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2016 5:31 pm
Occupation: Parent

Re: Crystal project conclusions are not crystal clear!!!

Post by amynshyla »

I am helping my daughter who is in the third grade with the 'crazy crystal creations ' project.
I'm not sure on the best way to figure the #of crystals or the size of them.
Please help in this matter as soon as you can, project is due in one week.
tdaly
Former Expert
Posts: 1415
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2003 11:27 pm
Occupation: Planetary Scientist
Project Question: N/A
Project Due Date: N/A
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: Crystal project conclusions are not crystal clear!!!

Post by tdaly »

Hi amynshyla,

One option would be to take a picture of the crystals with a ruler next to them.. Use the same camera settings for all of the pictures, and ensure that you are the same distance away from all of the samples when you take the pictures. Afterwards, you can measure the sizes of the crystals in the picture by comparing them to the ruler in the picture. You can also count the number of crystals in the picture. As long as the photos show the samples at the same scale, you shouldn't need to count all of the crystals that grew. Counting only the ones in the photos should lead you to the same final conclusion.
All the best,
Terik
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