Candy Cane Experiment

Just before the Christmas Holidays, we did an experiment with candy canes. We wanted to know what would happen if we put a candy cane in hot water and cold water.

 

Here are some of the chidren`s predictions (and connections) on what will happen if we put a candy cane in hot water:

 

Ben: It`s gonna broke.

 

Devin: It`s going to shrink because in the cold water there isn`t enough pressure to make it shrink but in hot water there is.

 

Giuliana G.: The candy cane is stickier than the gingerbread man.

 

This observation from Giuliana directed us toward another question "Why is it sticky?"

 

Adam: Junk! Fruitloops that`s definitively junk.

 

Giuliana M.: There is a lot of sugar.

 

 

Here are some predictions on what will happen if we put a candy cane in cold water:

Adam: It`s gonna stay cold.

Devin: It`s gonna stay the same.

 

 

 

Then we put one candy cane in hot water and one in cold water. We also decide to put one candy with its wrapper in each of the cups. The children predicted that the wrapper would protect the candy canes. Here are the observations made by the children:

Hot Water:

 

Anthony: The colours are melting.

 

Kaitlyn: It`s turning white.

 

Alessa: (After touching the candy cane) This one is cold.

 

Kaitlyn: (Looking at the dye in the wrapper in the bottom) It's red at the bottom.

 

Anthony: The hot one is more red (the water).

 

Colin: They both turned into red and I see white sugar in there.

 

 

 

Cold Water

 

Sean: It`s melting.

 

Alessa: (Touching the one in cold water) This one is cold.

 

Tianna: This one is broken a little.

 

Kaitlyn: This one has two lines (stripes) at the bottom.

 

Anthony: This one has a little red. This one is going to break.

 

Nahisha: (touching the candy cane) It's wet.

 

Colin: The one with "c" is cold.

 

 

At  the end of our experiment, we concluded that a candy cane in hot water melts faster than in cold water and plastic protects the candy canes like our skin protects us.