Candy Corn Experiment – 2 Age Levels
Our candy corn experiment is divided into two age groups – preschool through elementary and middle through high school. Worksheets are included for each level; please feel free to use them as they best fit your child. For the younger scientists, answers can be drawn, written, or dictated.
A candy corn experiment has multiple chemistry lessons for all ages, the amount of detail we go into about that chemistry is what distinguishes the two levels.
Older students will test to see if there are differences in temperature and pH levels. Below is a photo of our final results of our candy corn experiment.
Table of Contents
Before starting the experiment, you might want to read this article about candy corn from the College of Agricultural & Environmental Studies at the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. (Older students can read it on their own.)
Also, this candy corn experiment is an ideal activity for giving our children extra time to take the experiment further with their own ideas. Allow extra time for your child to test other liquids. Our children become comfortable with science by trying their ideas and making new observations.
Candy Corn Experiment – Younger Level
Please take a look at the vocabulary words with your children before starting.
Explain what they will be doing in their science experiment. Tell them they will watch to see if the candy corn dissolves in each liquid.
They will see some chemical reactions, just like a real chemist!
As you complete the activity or discuss what happened, incorporate the words into your discussion. Encourage your children to say the words. In the free printable that accompanies this activity, are two vocabulary worksheets. If your child struggles to hold a pencil and write the words, here are some alternate ideas:
- Skip the writing!
- Have your child trace the letters with their fingers.
- Use dyed salt trays to write the letters. See this site for a how-to.
- Form the letters out of playdough.
- Use magnetic letters to write the words
Vocabulary for Younger Ages
The word dissolve means to put something solid into something wet, and the solid breaks apart or disappears. When we cook soup and add salt to the hot soup, the salt breaks apart. We cannot see it, but we can taste it. The salt dissolved into the soup.
A chemical reaction is when we mix two things and something new is made. When we bake a cake, we mix flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients. Then, we put it in the oven, and the heat helps turn those ingredients into a cake!
Before Getting Started with the Candy Corn Experiment
Before getting started with this candy corn experiment, here are a few tips:
- Download the printable pack and gather the items below
- You will need to help keep track of the start time and how much time passes before your child starts to see changes. It doesn’t need to be super-precise, but the idea is to be able to talk about which liquid took the longest to begin dissolving the candy and which worked the fastest. This helps children about the types of observations scientists make.
- In the results box on the worksheet, ask your child to draw what they see in each cup. Then, write the number of minutes it took to dissolve.
- If you have a magnifying glass available, your child can use it to take a closer look at what is happening in each cup.
Ask a few questions before starting:
- Review the vocabulary pages for the words observe, dissolve, and chemical reaction.
- Smell each liquid. How does it smell?
- Taste a very small amount of each. How does it taste? Is it sour or sweet?
- What do you think will happen when you put the candy in the water? Lemon juice? Vinegar? Soda? For older students, fill out the My Predictions sheet.
As you are setting up the experiment, ask your child to:
- Count out the pieces of candy. (Use the same type and number of candy in each cup.)
- Help them measure out the lemon juice, vinegar, and soda. A grown up should handle the hot water.
This packet contains the printables for preschool-early elementary students. The candy corn experiment is included in this resource.
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Candy Corn Experiment – Younger Version
Equipment
- Thermometer
- Magnifying glass Optional
Materials
- Candy corn – 1 piece per liquid tested
- Clear plastic cups or drinking glasses, label each so you know what liquid is in each. You will need 1 tall glass for the vinegar and baking soda mixture.
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 1/3 cup 1/3 cup hot water (a grown up must handle this)1/3 cup of clear soda pop (We used clear so we could more easily see the result.1/3 cup of orange juicecrayons, colored pencilsworksheetspencilphone camera to take video and/or photosMagnifying glass (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup Hot water (This should be handled by adults only. We used boiling water and let it cool for about 1 minute.)
- 1/3 cup clear soda (pop)
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- crayons or colored pencils
- phone camera or video
- magnifying glass (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all of the materials.
- Help your child pour each liquid into a clear plastic cup or glass.
- Put one of the 1/3 cup of vinegar into a tall galss
- Record the start time and have your child drop one piece of candy in each cup. Now, the fun observations begin!
- Add one teaspoon of baking soda to the vinegar in the tall glass.
- If you have a magnifying glass, help them use it to examine the chemical reactions closely.
- Take some photos and videos of the reactions in each cup.
- After 5 minutes, ask your child to draw their observations in each cup using their Lab Observation Sheet.
- If age-appropriate, have your child answer the questions on the My Observations page.
What is Happening in the Candy Corn Experiment
Here is some information to explain to your child what is happening in the candy corn experiment. Use this information, if it is appropriate for your child’s comprehension level.
Pictured here is candy corn in soda. The white material floating on the top is the confectioner’s glaze on the outside of the candy corn.
Candy corn is mostly made of sugar, corn syrup, and binders. Soda pop is carbonated, meaning it contains dissolved carbon dioxide gas under pressure. When you add candy corn to soda, some of the carbon dioxide will come out of solution in the form of bubbles. This can lead to fizzing and the release of gas, creating the bubbles we see.
When you place candy corn in vinegar, the sugar and corn syrup in the candy corn begin to dissolve in the water component of the vinegar.
The bubbles in the baking soda and vinegar mixture are from the reaction between the sodium bicarbonate in the baking soda and the acetic acid in the vinegar.
Candy Corn Experiment – Middle & High School Edition
Dependent and Independent Variables in the Candy Corn Experiment
Before doing this experiment, check out the history of candy corn!
If you are looking for a way to add a seasonal touch to a chemistry experiment for your older students, check out this activity or this one involving pumpkin candies!
In this candy corn experiment, we will investigate if the pH level and temperature of a solution changes when a salute is added to the solvent. In this experiment, the candy corn in the solute and the solvents are vinegar, 91% isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide (H202), vinegar & baking soda, lemon juice, orange juice, and Starry soda. (You may opt to use other solvents or a subset of the ones we used in this experiment.)
We will test the before and after pH to see if adding the sugar of the candy corn changes the pH level of the final solution.
Does the sugar and other ingredients in the candy corn affect the pH levels?
Will there be any dramatic temperature changes due to an endothermic or exothermic reaction?
We will also measure the starting temperature of each solvent and the temperature of the solution once the solute (candy corn) is added.
In this experiment, the independent variable is liquids we choose to use (vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) We have several dependent variables we can measure:
- Rate of Dissolution: You might measure the time it takes for the candy corn to completely dissolve in each liquid. This would involve recording the time it takes for the candy corn to disappear or become fully dissolved.
- Change in Mass: You could weigh the candy corn before and after it’s dissolved in each liquid to determine if there is a change in mass.
- Change in Appearance: You might observe and describe any changes in the candy corn’s appearance, such as color alterations or texture changes, as it dissolves in different liquids.
- pH Level: If you’re using liquids with varying levels of acidity, you could measure the pH level of each liquid before and after dissolving the candy corn to see if there’s a change in acidity.
- Bubbling/Fizzing: If some of the liquids cause fizzing or bubbling due to a chemical reaction, you could measure the intensity of the fizzing as it relates to the dissolution process.
We opted to measure temperature, pH level, and time to completely dissolve.
Precautions and Note to Parents and Teachers
We will be using hydrogen peroxide, Isopropyl alcohol, and shower cleaner. You may want to use a Dawn dishwashing liquid and forgo using the shower cleaner, or you may want to try another household cleaner you use. The use of the household cleaners is optional.
Please use gloves and safety glasses. Keep all substances away from heat.
Also, you may want to add hot water (just as it starts to boil) to this experiment.
Candy Corn Experiment – Measuring pH level, temperature, and dissolution rate
Materials
- 80 ml vinegar or 1/3 cup
- Candy corn or 1/3 cup
- 40 ml vinegar (for use in a tall glass) We will be adding baking soda to this, so we lessened the amount of vinegar.
- 80 ml hydrogen peroxide or 1/3 cup
- 80 ml Isopropyl alcohol (We used 91%. Either is OK.) or 1/3 cup
- 80 ml orange juice or 1/3 cup
- 80 ml fresh squeezed lemon juice or 1/3 cup
- 80 ml shower cleaner (We used Zed.) or 1/3 cup
- Glass beakers or plastic cups and at least one tall glass container for mixing the baking soda and vinegar.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Paper for labeling each liquid
- pH paper (20 pieces per set up) and the pH chart that should have been included with the paper
- Thermometer
- Marker, pencil
- Lab sheets from our printable pack
- Paper towels to wipe off the thermometer
Instructions
- Put on gloves and safety glasses.
- Gather all materials.
- Bring all liquids to room temperature before starting.
- Make labels for the vinegar, vinegar and baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, Isopropyl alcohol, lemon juice, soda, orange juice, shower cleaner.
- Measure out the remaining liquids.
- Arrange the containers and put their label in front.
- Next, dip one pH paper in each liquid, checking it against the pH chart.
- Place the pH paper on the table to dry. Place the "before" strip on the left side of the label. We will let it dry, then record it on the lab sheet.
- Take the temperature of each liquid and write it down on the lab sheet in the Before Temp area. Be sure to wipe the end of the thermometer after each reading before dipping it into the next liquid.
- Again, make sure your student(s) have on lab glasses and gloves.
- FIRST, add the candy corn to the vinegar setup where you will add the baking soda. Take the temperature of the vinegar after the candy corn only has been added. Make a note of this temperature. So, you'll have 3 readings for the vinegar-baking soda mix.
- Add 1 piece of candy corn to each liquid.
- Make sure the thermometer is in the glass with the vinegar. Read the temperature and watch the temperature as the baking soda is added to the vinegar.
- What is happening to the temperature of this mixture? Have someone record this temperature. Continue to watch the temperature for a few more seconds.
- One person should record what happened to the temperature.
- Next, start measuring the other liquids' temperature while observing any changes like bubbles or dissolution. Important: wipe off the thermometer after dipping in each glass.
- Dip a second pH strip into each solution and place on the right side of the labels.
- Continue filling out the data portion of the lab sheet.
- Complete the remainder of the questions and sections of the worksheets.
Photos of Our Candy Corn Experiment
Video of the Endothermic Reaction During the Candy Corn Experiment
What Was Observed
Two of the most notable outcomes of this experiment were the endothermic reaction in the baking soda-vinegar mixture indicated by the drop in temperature and the before and after pH values.
The biggest observable pH difference was in the vinegar and baking soda. This is because the vinegar alone is acidic, but when baking soda, an alkaline, is added, the mixture becomes more base.
The other mixtures did not have a significant change in their pH readings because sugar in this low amount did NOT affect the pH level in our experiment. Sugar is neither acidic or base; it has a pH of 7. (However, high amounts of sugar in our bodies does negatively affect our bodies. One effect is a lower amount of sodium and potassium in our bodies. This, in turn, can affect the body’s ability to absorb water. High amounts of sugar in our body will affect our body’s pH. So, eating large amounts of sugar is just not good for our bodies!)
The temperature changed most significantly in the vinegar and baking soda mixture.
We measured the temperature of the vinegar alone. Then, we measured the vinegar when the candy corn was added. The temperature did not change. Lastly, we measured the temperature once the baking soda was added. So, three temperature measurements were taken for the baking soda-vinegar mixture.
When baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3), which is more base (alkaline), mixes with vinegar, which contains acetic acid (CH3COOH) mix, an acid-base reaction occurs.
Specifically, the acetic acid in vinegar reacts with the sodium bicarbonate in baking soda to produce water (H2O), carbon dioxide gas (CO2), and sodium acetate (CH3COONa). The chemical equation for this reaction is:
CH3COOH + NaHCO3 -> CH3COONa + H2O + CO2
Chemical bonds break apart (vinegar and baking soda) and new bonds are made in the products of water, carbon dioxide, and sodium acetate. This breaking apart of bonds takes energy, which is taken from the surrounding area, resulting in a lower temperature.
This is called an endothermic reaction. You can read more and do another endothermic reaction in this post.
The fizzing is the production of carbon dioxide gas during the reaction.
Sodium acetate is typically left behind as a solid in the solution once the reaction is complete.
Some of our students were surprised that the candy corn dropped in vinegar didn’t dissolve quickly. They hypothesized that the vinegar would dissolve the candy corn quickly. But the results were different!
To understand this, let’s look more closely at the chemistry of vinegar. Vinegar is primarily made up of water with a small amount of acetic acid, usually between 3% and 5%. Its ability to dissolve things depends on whether those substances can mix well with water.
Vinegar is effective at dissolving substances that are water-soluble, such as low-molecular-weight sugars and certain types of salts. This dissolution process is aided by vinegar being an acidic solution, meaning it has a low pH. The acidity helps break down and dissolve specific salts that would typically remain insoluble in plain water.
Vinegar itself is hydrophilic, which means it mixes well with water. However, vinegar doesn’t dissolve hydrophobic compounds as well. Hydrophobic means these substances avoid water. This includes things like colorful dyes, oil, and large, complex molecules like plastics.
Vinegar does not react well with sugar. As we observed in this experiment, the candy corn dissolved more slowly than it did in some of the other liquids. This is because the candy’s composition doesn’t easily interact with the acetic acid in vinegar, resulting in a slower dissolution rate.
I hold a master’s degree in child development and early education and am working on a post-baccalaureate in biology. I spent 15 years working for a biotechnology company developing IT systems in DNA testing laboratories across the US. I taught K4 in a private school, homeschooled my children, and have taught on the mission field in southern Asia. For 4 years, I served on our state’s FIRST Lego League tournament Board and served as the Judging Director. I own thehomeschoolscientist and also write a regular science column for Homeschooling Today Magazine. You’ll also find my writings on the CTCMath blog. Through this site, I have authored over 50 math and science resources.