Colorful Candy Diffusion Science Activity

November 08, 2019

Colorful Candy Diffusion Science Activity

Candy is everywhere and inexpensive. It is fun to create colorful mixtures with different candies. This activity is very easy and can create beautiful results. A perfect activity for Pre-school on up. Try it for the holidays using themed candy.

Materials

Different Candy: Candy Canes, Gobstoppers, Sprees, Nerds, Smarties, Gumdrops, Red Hot's, Skittles, M&M's, Peppermints, etc. They don't all have to work. That is something the students can learn from.

Here, I used gumballs. They worked wonderfully.

Small Dish (I like petri dishes.)
Water
Alka-Seltzer for extra fun.

Directions

1. Place several of the candies around the dish. Make sure you use different colors. You don’t want the same color side by side.

2. Slowly pour water into the center of the dish to almost cover the candies.

3. Observe. Make sure no one is bumping the table. We want to keep the water still.

4. Create an experiment by testing cold water and hot water. What effect will that have?

How does this happen?

If the candy is brightly colored, it will slowly dissolve, causing the water around it to turn that color. There is no special magic trick as to why you get such defined shapes of colors. It all has to do with mixing. Since we poured the water slowly, the molecules did not mix quickly. The colors slowly diffuse, making a pattern. If you wait long enough eventually, it will all become one mixed color. If you use warm water, this process will happen more quickly. If you use cold water, it will happen more slowly. It all deals with how fast the molecules are moving.

Here are some examples.