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<TITLE>splitting the smartie</TITLE>
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<H2 ALIGN=center>splitting the smartie</H2>

Area of Science: Chemistry 
Meant for at least Grade K-3 (age 5-7). 
This experiment is edible. 
An adult need not be present. 



Overview: 
See ink magically split up into different colours

Equipment: 
1. Filter paper or blotting paper 
2. Tube of smarties 
3. Small cup of water 
4. Plate

Safety: 
keep the experiment on the plate until it dries or you might stain the table cloth

How to do the experiment: 
1. Cut the blotting paper into circles about 15cm across. 
2. Place the plate on a flat surface and the paper on the plate. 
3. Place a smartie in the center of the paper. 
4. Dip your finger into the water and hold it above the smartie allowing a little 
water to rip onto the sweet. 
5. Repeat fairly slowly until the sweet is quite wet and the circle of water on 
the blotting paper is about 5 cm across. 
6. Leave. 
7. In a little while you should be able to see rings of colour round the smartie.

You may now eat the smartie.
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Explanation: 
The colour in the sugar coating of the smartie shell disolves in the water. The water is drawn out through the paper by capillary action and moves in a growing circle. The different inks which make up the smartie colour move at different speeds and so they are separated.

At the 'molecular level' smaller hydrophilic molecules
migrate faster through the paper. Hydrophilic means a "water-loving"
substance, as opposed to hydrophobic compounds wich are not
soluble in water. Cooking oil is an example of a hydrophic substance.
The colors that migrate the furthest from the candy have less of a
mass than the ones closest to the candy.

Note that once the shell is wet, the smartie is not so crispy!

Useful References: 


Further comments: 
Repeat with different colours - which colour smarties are made of the 
most different inks?

I think m&m's work quite well, and you can also make a felt tip blob in the middle of the paper and look at felt tip inks. However, felt tips cannot be eaten afterwards.

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Experiment submitted on Tue Jul 29 09:05:39 1997 by: 
Name: robin hall 
Institution: UWSwansea 
Position: undergrad (chemistry) 
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Food science is the study of making food delicious and safe to eat. When we understand the science behind food, we can make smart choices about what to eat and how to cook food.

This experiment shows you how to split the different colors of ink or food dyes that can be found in a smartie or m&m using the process of chromatography

Let's find the secret rainbow inside the Skittles! We'll take different colored Skittles candy, add some water, and watch the colors separate.

Colors of Skittles Experiment

Show how many colors of food dyes or inks are found in a skittles or m&m

Did you know there's another way to uncover the secret colors of candies? By pulling out all the colors from the candies in one direction, you can compare all the different candies to each other and discover the rainbow of M&M colors like never before! This awesome video shows you how it's done, so get ready to become a candy color expert!

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Chemistry is the study of matter, which is everything around us! Chemists learn about what things are made of, how they react with each other, and how we can use them to improve our lives, such as in food science, technology and reducing environmental pollution.

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splitting the smartie