Candy Corn Science

Materials

• 10 pieces of candy corn
• Small glass bowls
• Liquids
• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Vinegar

Instructions

1. Form a hypothesis: what do you think might happen when you put the candy corn in each of these liquids?
1. Here are some things to consider:
1. Will the candy float or sink?
2. Will the candy change color?
3. Will the candy dissolve?
2. Pour ¼ of a cup of each liquid into a separate bowl or glass.
3. Carefully add two pieces of candy to each container of liquid - making sure not to splash.
1. After this step, you should have two pieces of candy left over. Keep them away from the liquids!
4. Observe what happens to the candy in each liquid 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 1 hour after you put the candy in the liquid.
5. Remove the candy from the liquids. Compare them to each other as well as to candy that was not placed in one of the liquids. What changes do you see? Do they match the hypothesis you made in step 1?

Understanding what happened

The candy reacted differently to some liquids than others because the liquids have different levels of acidity.

Some liquids are more “acidic” than other liquids. A liquid that is very acidic can dissolve things faster than other liquids. That’s why some of the candies dissolved more easily than others. They were in more acidic liquids!