How to Grow Aragonite Crystals

How to Grow Aragonite Crystals Its easy to grow aragonite crystals! These sparkly crystals only require vinegar and a rock. Growing crystals is a fun way to learn about geology and chemistry. Materials To Grow Aragonite Crystals You only need two materials for this project: Dolomite rocksHousehold vinegar Dolomite is a common mineral. It is the basis for dolomite clay, which should also work for crystals, but if you grow them on a rock you get a beautiful mineral specimen. If you use clay, you might want to include another rock or a sponge as a base or substrate to support crystal growth. You can find the rocks at a store or online or you can play rockhound and collect them yourself. How To Grow the Crystals This is one of the easiest crystal-growing projects. Basically, you just soak the rock in vinegar. However, here are a couple of tips for the best crystals: If your rock is dirty, rinse it off and let it dry.Place a rock in a small container. Ideally, it will be slightly bigger than the rock, so you dont have to use a lot of vinegar. Its okay if the rock sticks out of the top of the container.Pour vinegar around the rock. Make sure you leave an exposed space at the top. The crystals will start to grow at the liquid line.As the vinegar evaporates, aragonite crystals will start to grow. Youll start to see the first crystals in a day. Depending on temperature and humidity, you should start to see really good growth around 5 days. It may take up to 2 weeks for the vinegar to completely evaporate and produce crystals as big as possible.You can remove the rock from the liquid whenever you are satisfied with the appearance of the aragonite crystals. Handle them carefully, as they will be brittle and fragile. What Is Aragonite? Dolomite is the source of the minerals used to grow the aragonite crystals. Dolomite is a sedimentary rock often found along the shores of ancient oceans. Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate. Aragonite is found in hot mineral springs and in some caves. Another calcium carbonate mineral is calcite. Aragonite sometimes crystallizes into calcite. Aragonite and calcite crystals are chemically identically, but aragonite forms orthorhombic crystals, while calcite displays trigonal crystals. Pearls and mother of pearl are other forms of calcium carbonate.

Quick Saponification of Methyl Salicylate Reaction

Quick Saponification of Methyl Salicylate Reaction Making your own soap can be a time-consuming process, but you can demonstrate the saponification reaction quickly and easily by reacting oil of wintergreen and sodium hydroxide to make sodium salicylate. This takes mere minutes. Key Takeaways: Saponification of Oil of Wintergreen Saponification is the chemical reaction that produces soap. However, it can be used to form other useful compounds.Oil of wintergreen can be reacted with sodium hydroxide to yield sodium salicylate. The reaction is a saponification.Sodium salicylate is used as an aspirin alternative. Ingredients All you need is the strong base sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and oil of wintergreen. Oil of wintergreen is easiest to find online. Oil of wintergreen2 M sodium hydroxideBeakers or test tubes How to Perform a Quick  Saponification of Methyl Salicylate Reaction This demonstration is about as easy as it gets! First, get your materials together.Pour 2M sodium hydroxide into the oil of wintergreen, while stirring.Sodium salicylate will be formed by the saponification reaction. It will appear as a thick white solid.Here is the reaction: HOC6H4COOCH3 NaOH → HOC6H4COO-Na CH3OH Tips for Success Oil of wintergreen is methyl salicylate. If you have difficulty finding it under one name, then try the other.This demonstration is intended to be performed by persons with training in the handling and use of chemicals. Proper safety precautions must be used, particularly when handling NaOH.