Creating Crystals
Borax crystals form when you mix borax powder with very hot water, which creates a special "super-saturated" solution. As the water cools down, it can't hold as much borax anymore, so the borax molecules start to stick together and form solid, geometric crystals on objects like pipe cleaners
Creating crystals is a physical change, not a chemical one. During crystallization, the molecules of the substance are rearranged into a highly ordered, solid structure, but their chemical composition does not change. A chemical change would involve creating new substances with different properties, which doesn't happen when crystals form from a solution or melt.
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Physical change: A physical change alters the form or appearance of a substance, but not its chemical identity.
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Examples of crystal formation as a physical change include:
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Evaporation: When water evaporates from a salt or sugar solution, the water molecules are removed, but the salt or sugar molecules remain the same and come together to form crystals.
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Cooling: When a supersaturated solution is cooled, the dissolved substance comes out of the solution and arranges itself into a crystal lattice, such as with ice forming from water.
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Chemical change: A chemical change results in the formation of one or more new compounds with different properties. An example of a chemical change that is not crystal formation is when sugar is heated until it caramelizes, breaking down its molecules and forming new compounds.
Experiments with Borax
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Popular borax science experiments include making borax crystals, which involves dissolving borax in hot water and suspending a pipe cleaner shape in the solution to grow crystals as it cools.
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Another experiment is making a non-Newtonian fluid called "borax goo" by mixing borax or cornstarch with water and observing how it behaves like both a liquid and a solid.
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A bouncy ball experiment is also possible by mixing borax, glue, and cornstarch to create a moldable, bouncing ball.
