Growing salt crystals in the home
What you need:
Rock salt, string, glass, water, pencil, saucepan, food dye
What to do:
- Pour 500mL of water into a saucepan and add rock salt. Stir to dissolve. Add as much salt as you can until it stops dissolving.
- Tie a salt crystal to some string, allowing the string to dangle down, and tie the other end of the string around the middle of a pencil (or teaspoon).
- Place the pencil across the top of a glass so the salt crystal dangles into the glass.
- Pour the salt solution into the glass so the crystal is hanging just above the water, with the string in the water.
- Add a few drops of food dye.
- Leave the solution for as long as possible. See what happens after a month.
What happens:
Over one month, the crystal grows to three times its original size.
Back to Home Science activities.
—this homesciene activity written by FLEET PhD candidate Abigail Goff (RMIT)