Try this sweet science experiment from the Nat Geo Kids book Try This!: 50 Fun Experiments for the Mad Scientist in You.
Find out how different pieces of candy react when placed in the same amount of water. This experiment gets to the bottom of the mystery of colorful candy-coating.
Step 1
Fill each petri dish with water and put a colored candy in.
Step 2
See the colors dissolve at different rates. Experiment with other liquids to see how the colors behave in different solutions, or in liquids at different temperatures.
Bonus Step: Gummies
Place a gummy bear or other gummy in a petri dish full of water overnight. What happens to it by morning?
QUESTION THIS!
• Does it make a difference if the colored candy has a flavor or not?
• Do different candies with the same color dissolve at the same rate?
• What happens to candies that have writing or other symbols stamped onto them?
• What will happen if you place two or more candies of different colors in the same dish? Can you make new colors this way?
WHAT TO EXPECT
The colors will change at different rates depending on the color, the liquid, and the temperature of the solution.
WHAT’S GOING ON?
The solid candy melts into the water or other liquid to create a solution that has its own color. Different pigments (solids used to create colors) dissolve (enter solutions) at different rates.