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Candy Chemistry

With this activity, students will explore basic chemistry concepts by testing the solubility of substances in water.

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Lesson Plan: Some of the key concepts that we will cover today,

  • Solubility: The ability of a substance to be dissolved in water

    • Ex: Sugar cubes added to tea/coffee

  • Diffusion: Movement of molecules from higher to lower concentration

    • Ex: Tea bag in hot water

  • Surface Tension: Barrier formed on the surface of water caused by a force called cohesion. It also holds the material together

Steps:

  1. Take a plate and put Skittles on 4 sides of the plate. 

  2. Add warm water and observe the colors. 

  3. Get a new plate or clean your existing plate for the next activity.

  4. Repeat the same steps with 4 M&MS and observe.

  5. In the next activity, we will race Skittles and M&M on the same plate

  6. Line M&M's on on side of the plate and Skittles on the opposite side. 

  7. Add warm water and observe the colors. Which candy will reach the center first, skittles or M&M's? 

  8. Who won? 

  • Type of coating

  • Dye concentration and solubility

Key concepts learned and observed today are: 

  • Solubility: M&Ms and Skittles were able to dissolve

  • Diffusion: Dye was able to spread from candy to water

  • Surface Tension: Colored coating dissolves but doesn’t mix w/ water → separation of colors because of high surface tension

  • Temperature: Warm water → dye can dissolve and spread faster

  • Stratification= layers w/ differences

  • Dyes and sugars mixed with/ water

  • Colors dissolve at different rates

Some dyes can be denser or react differently with water. This leads to layers where certain colors are more concentrated
Creates stratification: Layers of water have different amounts of dissolved substances → differences in density
 

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Activity 1: Skittles

Activity 2: M&M

Racing Skittles and M&M

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