Growing Crystals

Objective: To produce crystals and observe their properties.

Materials: wide-mouthed 500 mL jar, a piece of string (about 25 cm), pencil, 6 tablespoons
of borax, boiling water, rock salt, a pinch of solid or a drop of liquid food color (optional)

Procedure:
A.
1. Make one or two equally spaced knots on one end of the string. Tie the other end of the
string to the pencil, keeping it long enough to hang into the jar, but not touching the
bottom.

2. Fill the jar with two cups (about 350 mL) of boiling water.

3. Add borax to the boiling water a little at a time while stirring to dissolve after each
addition. Stop adding when some borax remains undissolved at the bottom of the jar,
even after stirring well.

4. If desired, add a small pinch of food color to tint the mixture.

5. Place the pencil on top of the jar with the string hanging freely inside. Make sure the
knot/s are completely covered with the liquid mixture.

6. Place the jar in a location where it will not be disturbed until the next day.
7. Get the string from the jar on the next day. Place it carefully on a piece of paper.
Observe, draw, and describe the crystals formed.

DOCUMENTATION:
B.
Place a few crystals of rock salt on a dry, clean
piece of paper and observe it with the use of a
magnifying glass. Draw and describe the crystals.

- It has many IRREGULAR shapes or there is no specific shape but mostly it either
has a sharp shape or irregular shape
 - The texture is rough.
- It has different hues of Black and gray.
- Color is kind of fading at the edges, from pure black to just white/gray crystal
- It has small rocky crystals and big crystals.

Questions:
1. What geometric forms and patterns do the crystals show?
Crystals form when the supersaturated liquid solution cools and the water (the
solvent) evaporates, leaving behind a solute (a substance dissolved in another
substance) whose molecules re-form into irregular shapes .Irregular quadrilateral
shapes meaning not all 4( or more depending on the crystal) angles are equal &
not all 4 sides are equal. Where in this experiment the cubic (or isometric) crystal
system is evidently shown. This system where the unit cell is in the shape of a
cube.
2. How do the crystals deposited on the knot compare with those on the stretched
part of the string?
The knot does not have any crystal formed compared to the pipe cleaners where a
little rocks and large rocks formed.
3. How do the Borax crystals compare with the rock salt crystals in size and
structure?
Borax crystals had smaller crystals than rock salt. Rock salt has bigger crystals
rocks.

CLARIZZE JADE L. ALANANO

12 STEM 3