Science Sunday ~ The Decomposition of Sugar

Dawson has been learning about the basic patterns of all life. One that we studied this week is: Life Runs on Sugar.

From The Way Life Works by Mahlon Hoagland, "Sugars are simple, energy-packed chains of three to seven carbon atoms festooned with hydrogens and oxygens." Sugar is carbon and water fused together. When sugar is heated, it breaks down into it's original carbon and water elements.

So, to demonstrate the decomposition of sugar, we did the following experiment:

Dawson poured 1/2 cup of sugar into a small pan and heated it until the hydrogen and oxygen were revealed in their natural combined form: water.

As it was broken down into the carbon element, it turn into a blackish color.

Once the sugar was caramelized into a liquid form, he slowly added 1/2 cup of water. It sizzled and popped, so he poured slowly and stayed back.

Part of it crystalized immediately and it tasted like rock candy.

The sugar was decomposed and made into a completely different substance. Had we wanted, we could have continued to heat and stir it until it was pure caramel, and used it as sauce over ice cream or another dessert.

This is what you DON'T want to do: Turn on the burner, and take someone's word for it that it takes about 5-10 minutes for the sugar to turn into liquid form. It only takes a couple of minutes, at least with an electric stove top.

I was busy making the beds. Apparently Dawson didn't see the smoke. Hmmmm ... That sure didn't look like something we wanted to serve on a dessert.

Linking this up at Adventures of Mommydom's Science Sunday.

Cells ~ It's What's for Dinner

Dawson made edible cells on Friday. He made an animal cell pizza ... and a plant cell chocolate chip cookie ... He reviewed what he's learned about cells the past two weeks, and I had dinner made by someone else. Win, win!! I am linking up at Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.

A New Year, the Same Me

Happy 2019! It is that day of the year where everybody is up extra early starting their new exercise routine, eating only healthy foods, cracking open the pages of a new planner and Bible study, and debuting their Word for the year. You chuckle or roll your eyes, but you are doing at least three of these things. By the way, so am I. So let's start with the Word of the Year. Mine this year is Lagom. It's the Swedish word for "not too little, not too much, just right". It's a concept of being, doing or having just enough. So let's rewind to last New Year's Day. My Word was Might. And that's how I planned to tackle my year. And, I did. I worked out hard, I mommed hard, I traveled hard, I worked hard. And it was a good season. It prepared the way for this year. I accepted the Challenge I set for myself and succeeded. But, I don't need to keep up that pace. I am at a place in my life where I can kind of sit back and enjoy my life without f...

Science Sunday ~ Hmmm ... Let Me Think About It!

This week in our study of the Human Body , Brynne moved on to the Nervous System . Our first stop was a Pamela Hill Nettleton book called, Think, Think, Think: Learning About Your Brain . As part of our discussions about the brain , and the fact that it's the BOSS of the body, we discussed the importance of the spinal cord . We did a hands on spinal cord project by alternating gummy Life Savers and wagon wheel pasta on a pipe cleaner. We talked about why there was the "squishy" stuff in between the vertebra and how the back can bend and sway because of it. We completed "The Brynne" by adding the stomach, small intestine and large intestine, from our study last week of the Digestive System (although I just realized I have the large intestine coming out of the stomach, when the small intestine should be) and the brain and spinal cord. We are now done talking about the parts of the body and will conclude our study of the Human Body with a two-day unit ...

Journey to Excellence

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