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Growingacrystalofalumorcoppersulfate
Classpractical
Herestudentshavethesatisfactionofgrowingtheirowncrystals.Thisisawonderfulexperience.

>Electromagnetism

Apparatusandmaterials

>Energy

Jars,small,e.g.jamjars,oneperstudent

>Forcesandmotion

Alumorcoppersulfate

>Moleculesinmotion

Plasticbucketwithlid

>Optics
>Physicalquantities
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Apparatus
AboutPracticalPhysics
StrongsolutionsofcoppersulfateareHARMFUL.
Readourstandardhealth&safetyguidance
Labelthejarscarefullyotherwisethebestcrystalalwaysappearstobelongtoeveryone!
1Thesaturatedsolution
Severaldaysbefore,asolutionofthesaltwhichissaturatedatroomtemperaturemustbeprepared.Thisis
bestdonebyallowingasupersaturatedsolutiontodeposititsexcesssolidasexplainedbelow.

Toprepareaworkingsolution,dissolvethesaltinwarmwater(about50C)atarateof40gper100mlfor
potassiumalum.Sevenlitresissufficientforaclassof32usingjamjars.Pourthissolutionintothebucket,
closethelid,andallowtocooltoroomtemperature.Thissolutionisnowsupersaturated.

Seedthissolutionwithapinchoftinycrystalsandleaveitintheclosedvesselfortwotothreedays,shaking
occasionally,tobecomesaturatedatroomtemperature.Pourofftheclearsaturatedsolutionintoanother
vesselwhichisclosedwithalid.

2Seedcrystals
Onemethodofproducingtheseedcrystalsistodipalengthofthreadintothesaturatedsolutionandthento
hangituptodry.Smallcrystalswillappearonit.Thewholethreadisthenhunginthesolution.Afteroneortwo
days,examinethecrystalsthathavedevelopedandbreakoffallbutthebest.Thesewillthenformtheseeds
forthenextstage.

Thissiteusescookies.Bycontinuingtousethissiteyouagreetoouruseofcookies.Tofindout
Anothermethodistoplaceabout50mlofthepreparedsolutioninanopenbeakerandallowittoevaporate

overnight.Sortanddrytheresultingseeds,retainingthosewhichareperfectinshapeandabout3mmlong.
more,seeourPrivacyandCookiespolicy.

Ifyouhavemanystudentsgrowingcrystals,youmayneedtocollectthejamjarsfromstudents.Bewarned
jarsmustbeverycleanascrystalsdonotgrowwellinasolutionofraspberryjam!

Youmayhavestorageproblems.Onesolutionistousetaperedglasstumblersthatcanbestacked.Wherever
theyarestored,rememberthattheirtemperaturemustremaineven.

Procedure
Firstmethod
aSuspendthethreadwithitsperfectseedcrystalfrom,say,apencillaidacrossthetopofthejar.
bFillthejarwiththesaturatedsolutionuntiltheseediscompletelycoveredtoadepthofatleasttwo
centimetres.

cCoverthejarwithapieceofthincottoncloth(forexamplemuslinorcheesecloth)whichisheldinplacewith
anelasticband.

Secondmethod
aTietheseedtoashortlengthofcottonorthread.Thisisnotaneasyprocess.Studentsmightbeadvisedto
prepareaslipknotandinsertthecrystal,ratherthantryingtotieareeforgrannyknotaroundtheseed.

bSuspendthethreadwithitsperfectseedcrystalfrom,say,apencillaidacrossthetopofthejar.

cFillthejarwiththesaturatedsolutionuntiltheseediscompletelycoveredtoadepthofatleasttwo
centimetres.

dCoverthejarwithapieceofthincottoncloth(forexamplemuslinorcheesecloth)whichisheldinplacewith
anelasticband.

Ineithercase,thejaristhenleftundisturbedandataneventemperatureforseveraldays.

Teachingnotes
Gettingacrystaltogrowprovidesagreatsenseofachievement.
Labelthejarscarefullyotherwiseeveryoneclaimsthebestcrystalsbelongtothem.
Themostcommonproblemencounteredisthatthetemperatureatwhichthejarsarestoreddoesnotremain
constant,dayandnight.Increasingtemperatureincreasesthesolubilityandthepreciouscrystalsdisappear.
Colourfulpicturesofcrystalscanmakeagoodclassroomdisplay.Donotforgetsnowflakecrystals.
Thisactivitycouldalsobedoneathome.Ifyouchoosethisoption,encouragestudentstogrowcrystalsofsuch
commonsubstancesassugar,commonsalt,Epsomsaltsandwashingsoda.Youcouldalsoprovidethemwith
plentyofalumtotakehometotry.Studentswouldbewelladvisedtokeeptheirjarintherefrigerator.This
activityusuallygetsparentsinvolvedthiscanbebeneficialaslongastheydonottakeover.
ThisexperimentwassafetycheckedinMay2004

Relatedguidance
Crystalsandatomicmodelsforbeginners

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