Rock Candy Lab

Carbohydrate can be generalized into three big categories, which are

monosaccharide, disaccharide, and polysaccharide. Monosaccharide is the simplest
form of carbohydrate, followed by disaccharide, and polysaccharide is the most
complex. These categories can be broken down further, depending on the complexity
of its structure. Monosaccharide can be broken down into fructose, glucose, and
galactose. Disaccharide into sucrose (glucose + fructose), maltose (glucose +
glucose), and lactose (glucose + galactose). Polysaccharide long chain of
monomers into starch, glycogen, and cellulose (carbohydrates, n.d.).
All carbohydrates are sugar, but only monosaccharide and polysaccharide are
called simple sugar. These sugars are all based on the same chemical composition,
but their atoms arrangement ar different. This is how they have their properties.
Properties of sugar can be categorized into four big topics: sensory, physical,
microbial and chemical. Sensory properties of sugar are taste (sweetness), flavour,
texture, tenderizer, and appearance. Physical properties are solubility & freezing and
boiling point. Microbial properties are preservation and Fermentation. Chemical
properties of sugar are crystallization, antioxidant, and oxidant (caramelization)
activity. (Canadian Sugar Institute, 2017) However, there are four properties that are
different for each sugar type due to its different grouping of atoms: sweetness,
caramelization, solubility, and crystallization (Mehas & Rodgers, 2006).
Caramelization happens when the sugar gets heated at a high temperature
and melt, changing chemically. When the sugar is put in a certain temperature, the
water hydrogen and oxygen molecules, which is in the water molecule would leave.
These molecules will then join, creating a larger molecule with more carbon in it.
This result the sugar to have brown or caramel colour and this is called the browning
reaction. The caramelize point for sucrose, glucose, and galactose is 170-degree
celsius. But. The caramelize point for sucrose is at 110-degree celsius.
The sweetness of sugar is different due to their various types, some are sweet
and some arent very sweet compare to the other. Sucrose is the sweetest from all
the sugar types, then sucrose, glucose, galactose, maltose, and lactose is the less.
However, there are factors that could change the sweetness of sugar: pH level,
temperature, concentration, and consistency (Mehas & Rodgers, 2006).
The solubility of sugar is how soluble the sugar is in water. The order of
solubility is just like the order for sweetness, sucrose most soluble and lactose
is the less. The factor that affects the soluble ability of sugar is the water
temperature. The higher the water temperature is, the more soluble the sugar will be,
meaning that if the solution is heated, more solute (sugar) can be added in. But once
the solution is cooled, the amount of solute that it could contain will go back to
normal. If the solute added in the solution is more than that the solvent can hold, it
will become a supersaturated solution (Mehas & Rodgers, 2006).
Lastly, crystallization is when the solute got added into a supersaturated
solution while its heating. As the solution boils, water molecules will start to
evaporate, leaving the sugar molecules in the solvent. The sugar crystals will now
start to form by separating out of the solution. In order for the crystallization to
occurs, tiny particles have to be added to the solution, it can be sugar particles or
even dust. The sugar will then crystallizes nearby those particles, forming bigger
sugar crystal. This process will continue, in the right condition, it might be going over
until it turns into solid forms. Factors that control the size of the crystal is its growth
rate, a number of particles got added, and the type of sugar (Mehas & Rodgers,
2006).

In the Rock Candy lab, we will be focusing on two properties of sugar,

which are crystallization and solubility. We will boil the water and continuously add in
sugar until it becomes syrup. After the heated solution is saturated, we will then leave
it to cool down. Once the solution is cooled it will become supersaturated. This
shows the solubility property of sugar. After that, we will be pouring the solution in a
container holding a stick coated with sugar, and leave it for a certain amount of time.
The crystals that additionally grow out from the sugar coated stick will show the
property of crystallization. The purpose of the Rock Candy lab is to observe two
properties of sugar which are solubility and crystallization.

Carbohydrates (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/carbohydrates.htm

Canadian Sugar Institute (2017). Functional Properties of Sugar. Retrieve form

http://www.sugar.ca/Nutrition-Information-Service/Health-professionals/Functional-Pro

perties-of-Sugar.aspx

Mehas K.Y. & Rodgers S.L. (2006). Carbohydrate. Food Science: the biochemistry of

Food and nutrition. (pp. 219-223) United States of America: Mc Graw Hill.