What makes the crystals grow?
Two different methods will contribute to the growth of the crystals on the string. You have created a supersaturated solution by first heating a saturated sugar solution (a solution in which no more sugar can dissolve at a particular temperature) and then allowing it to cool. A supersaturated solution is unstable it contains more solute (in this case, sugar) than can stay in a liquid form so the sugar will come out of solution, forming what’s called a precipitate. This method is called precipitation. The other is evaporation as time passes, the water will evaporate slowly from the solution. As the water evaporates, the solution becomes more saturated and sugar molecules will continue to come out of the solution and collect on the seed crystals on the string. The rock candy crystals grow molecule by molecule. Your finished rock candy will be made up of about a quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) molecules attached to the string. 6. At the end of the week, the crystals on your string sho
