🧪 The Dissolving Quest 🧪

The Big Question

Does water temperature change how fast salt and sugar dissolve? And does one dissolve faster than the other? Time to find out!

My Hypothesis

I think sugar will dissolve faster than salt at every temperature, and hotter water will make both dissolve faster than cold water. Heat gives water molecules more energy so they can break apart the sugar and salt faster!

Materials

• Table salt & granulated sugar
• Measuring spoons (1 tablespoon each)
• 9 clear cups of water (3 cold, 3 room temp, 3 hot)
• Thermometer
• Stopwatch / timer
• Spoon for stirring
• Notebook & pencil

Procedure

1. Prepare 3 cups of cold water (~40 °F / 4 °C), 3 cups of room temp water (~70 °F / 21 °C), and 3 cups of hot water (~140 °F / 60 °C).
2. Measure the exact temperature of each cup with the thermometer and record it.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to one cup at each temperature. Start the timer and stir at a steady pace until fully dissolved. Record the time.
4. Repeat with 1 tablespoon of sugar in a fresh cup at each temperature.
5. Do each test 3 times to make sure results are accurate (that's why we have 9 cups!).
6. Record all results and calculate the average dissolve time for each.

Experiment Photos

Results

Conclusion

My hypothesis was correct! Sugar dissolved faster than salt at every temperature, and hotter water made both dissolve much faster.

Why? Hot water molecules move faster and have more energy, so they break apart the salt and sugar crystals quicker. Sugar dissolves faster because its molecules are bigger and form weaker bonds with each other compared to salt's tightly packed crystal structure.

What I learned: Temperature is a big deal in chemistry! This is why people stir sugar into hot coffee instead of cold — science in everyday life!