Garret+Bracken

=** Instructions: **=  =__Introduction:__= In this experiment we will be attempting to make the best crystal. We will try to make the best crystal by using a number of different methods from the three sites above. We will be making our crystals out of the salt called Magnesium Sulfate (MSDS). Bellow is a list of information pertaining to Magnesium Sulfate. This is important information because when experimenting with materials we need to know what we are dealing with. Health Effects Inhalation:** Dust may be slightly irritating. Sore throat or coughing may occur. Since magnesium salts are slowly absorbed, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea may be the only symptoms. However, if elimination is blocked by bowel blockage or other reasons, CNS depression, lack of reflexes, hypocalcemia (deficiency of calcium in the blood) may occur. No adverse effects expected but may cause minor skin irritation. No adverse effects expected but dust may cause mechanical irritation. No information found. No information found. Transparent crystals, or white powder. Odorless. Very soluble in water. 1.67 g/ml @ 4C 1124C (2055F) Decomposes. Loses all waters of hydration @ 250C (482F)
 * Take 1 cup water and boil it.
 * Pour the water into a glass jar.
 * Add salt to the water, stirring about a teaspoon at a time.
 * Keep on putting salt and stirring the water, till the salt no longer dissolves and starts collecting at the bottom of the jar.
 * Get the color that you have bought for your crystals and add a couple of drops to the water.
 * Take a pencil and tie one end of the string around it.
 * Tie a paper clip to the other end of the string.
 * Place the pencil over the jar, in such a way that the string hangs down and the paper clip almost touches the bottom of the jar.
 * Place the jar in a place where it will not be disturbed by anyone.
 * After 24 hours, check on the jar. You will find crystals forming, in cubical shapes, on the paper clip.
 * [|Magnesium Sulfate]
 * Ingestion:**
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__//**ALUMINUM SULFATE**//__ Colorless crystals. Odorless. 87 g/100 cc water @ 0C (32F). 1.69 @ 17C/4C No information found. 0 No information found. 87C (189F) Decomposes. No information found. No information found. No information found.
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 * % Volatiles by volume @ 21C (70F):**
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 * Evaporation Rate (BuAc=1):**

Information came from;[|Aluminum] Materials:

1. Magnesium Salt/Alum Salt 2.Water 3.Beaker 4. Plate 5. String 6.Tweezers 7. Hot Plate 8. Scale 9.Scooper 10.Pencil and Paper 11.Thermometer

Procedure: 1.We took our beaker and filled it with 100 ml of water. 2.We heated the water to a temperature that was a little hotter then the room temp air. 3.We kept adding Magnesium/ Alum sulfate to the water until the salt would not mix with the water any more, we had to make it a super saturated solution. 4.Then we poured some of our solution onto a dish. 5.We put the dish by the window that we could evaporate the liquid to for our seed crystals. 6.We tied our seed crystal to a string and put it in our solution. 7.We wait for the crystals to form to the string. 8. After crystals have grown off of string then melt crystals and repeat until perfect crystals form on the string. =Important Info:=

Before we began the experiment we as a class and as individuals learned about saturation vs. supersaturation. Knowing the difference between the two played a crutial role in the experiment. Super Saturated Solution is defined as: a solution that can contains more solute than it can really hold at a given temperature; if a seed crystal is added then the solute grabs onto the seed crystal forming a crystal. Solute is also a key word and is defined as: Disolved particles in a solution. The difference between the two is very clear. A super Saturated liqiud is a solution that can hold more than it is supposed to keep in mind it is kept at a constant temperature. On the other hand a solution is just an ordinary amount or solvent where the solution does not need to to be heated up.

Observations: During this expierament we observed the change from a solid (salt), to a liquide (super saturated solution(water), back into a crystalized state. The difference from the begging to end was that it seemed that all the little salt crystals had combined together to make one bigger one.

**// __Garrett MacDonald report__ //**

This experiment allowed us to choose what we wanted to explore. Me myself wanted to experiment with crystals. I decided to work with Bracken to attempt to come up with the most sufficient way of growing crystals. Me and Bracken choose to do this experiment because we wanted to basically make something that we thought was really cool. The basic way of explaining what we did was to super saturate a beaker of water with our choice of salt which would be Magnesium Sulfate. Then wait until that saturated solution crystalized.

During this experiment i observed our seed crystal that we made form in to a giant crystal which actually grew so big that it crystalized its self to the beaker. Our crystal didn't look as small and crystal like as the other group which makes me question our method for growing crystals. Instead of a small strong crystal we got a big sharp looking ball of crystals. This makes me wonder whether the salt that we used made a different in the crystal that we made or if it was just our method for growing crystals that formed it the way it was.

We dissolved our Magnesium sulfate in a beaker filled with 40 ml of water. After adding all the salt (point of super saturation) we found that the waters level had risen about 20 ml which i found interesting. To help the salt dissolve we heated the water to about 110 degrees C so that the salt would devolve faster. Once all salt was dissolved we let it cool to about room temperature so that we could insert our seed crystal without having it melt. After the insertion of the seed crystal we let the super saturated solution sit for about 2 weeks till taking it out. We observed the thin peaces of crystal jutting out from a big ball of crystal.

During this experiment i learned what supersaturated means. It is a solution that has been over concentrated and cannot be added to anymore. I also learned how crystallization occurs. It occurs when the water is cooling to room temp the molecules in the liquid rearrange them selves in a set order that cases access particles to evaporate from the solution which causes the formation of the crystals.

If i had do redo or change a variable in my experiment it would have to be the amount of Magnesium sulfate that i administered. I would like to try the experiment and not use as much salt as i did to see if that effects the shape and size of the crystal rather then getting just a big ball of crystal.

The experiment that I have taken on has helped me to deepen my understanding in science in many ways. I have been able to connect the science that I have done with the book, one huge concept that I have learned more and more about is Saturation Vs. Super Saturation. To make crystals everything you do depends on how saturated your solution is. The connection with the book and my experiment was that to make crystals everything depends on how saturated your solution is.  Throughout the experiment I learned a lot about the concept of saturation. By doing my experiment I was able to take into better account how temperature affects hugely on the saturation of the liquid. If I were to redo my experiment then I would like to set up four beakers and by doing so then I would want to change the temperature I heated the solution to. I would heat one beaker to 50 degrees F, another 75 degrees F, 25 degrees F, 35 degrees F and 20 degrees F. The temperatures would affect how much salt the water could take up. By doing this maybe the crystals would turn out not as big or not as solid also maybe there would not be as much crystal on one string.
 * __Bracken Wilde Report Conclusions:__**