crystal growth and reasons why temperature and different typ
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:06 pm
Hello I am the parent of a 4th grader that is doing a science project that is due in the last days of January 2015. She has decided to do her project on Crystals and she has started on experiments and I have helped her make them.
We already have at least 4 different crystals (she used Alum as the Soluble) and has done one Salt experiment.
She decided to use 2 different types of water in the experiments (she used Plain Tap Water and Distilled Water) she also used 2 different types of Temperatures when doing each crystal experiment and had 2 different types of solutions and crystals from each experiment.
The problem she is facing is trying to come up with the right way to explain her hypothesis on the different types of waters affect the growth of the crystals.
This is because when she made one of the solutions using Plain Tap Water and Alum, the crystals came out big, however when she did the next solution using Distilled Water and Alum, the crystals came out even bigger than the lest solution she had made. When we did some research on why the different types of water affects the size of growth of the crystals online to help her research the hypothesis behind it.
Online results kept coming back that Plain tap Water was the best at making large crystals, when her observations of her experiments told her different results than the computer did.
Now she's confused because she keeps researching online and in books on what affects Distilled Water has on crystal growth and she cannot find an answer that sounds like what her experiments concluded.
She would like to understand the hypothesis for the experiment she has done.
She also has Temperature experiments on the crystals growth as well but she is stuck a little there as well, although that part she is starting to understand and explain in her hypothesis.
The problem is the different water types and the crystal growth.
The solutions she made were as follows:
1 cup hot water
2 1/2 heaping tablespoons alum
food coloring (to show one experiment from another)
She made seed crystals also to show the growth of each after the solution had formed the crystals and to show the size while in the solutions.
Could an expert please help her figure the way to explain the situation she is having difficulties with and so she can understand it as well, so that she can make complete since of what her experiments showed her regarding the difference between water types and crystal growth.
We already have at least 4 different crystals (she used Alum as the Soluble) and has done one Salt experiment.
She decided to use 2 different types of water in the experiments (she used Plain Tap Water and Distilled Water) she also used 2 different types of Temperatures when doing each crystal experiment and had 2 different types of solutions and crystals from each experiment.
The problem she is facing is trying to come up with the right way to explain her hypothesis on the different types of waters affect the growth of the crystals.
This is because when she made one of the solutions using Plain Tap Water and Alum, the crystals came out big, however when she did the next solution using Distilled Water and Alum, the crystals came out even bigger than the lest solution she had made. When we did some research on why the different types of water affects the size of growth of the crystals online to help her research the hypothesis behind it.
Online results kept coming back that Plain tap Water was the best at making large crystals, when her observations of her experiments told her different results than the computer did.
Now she's confused because she keeps researching online and in books on what affects Distilled Water has on crystal growth and she cannot find an answer that sounds like what her experiments concluded.
She would like to understand the hypothesis for the experiment she has done.
She also has Temperature experiments on the crystals growth as well but she is stuck a little there as well, although that part she is starting to understand and explain in her hypothesis.
The problem is the different water types and the crystal growth.
The solutions she made were as follows:
1 cup hot water
2 1/2 heaping tablespoons alum
food coloring (to show one experiment from another)
She made seed crystals also to show the growth of each after the solution had formed the crystals and to show the size while in the solutions.
Could an expert please help her figure the way to explain the situation she is having difficulties with and so she can understand it as well, so that she can make complete since of what her experiments showed her regarding the difference between water types and crystal growth.