What you need:
- Small chocolate pieces - all around the same size
- Paper plates
- Thermometer (optional)
- Pen and paper to record your results
How to:
- Put the each piece of chocolate on a paper plate.
- Put the paper plates in different places - outside in the
shade, outside in the sun, on a sunny windowsill.
- If you're using a thermometer, you can record the temperature
at each of the places where you put the chocolate.
- Record how long it takes for the chocolate to melt.
Where does the chocolate melt quickest?
Experiment with putting chocolate in other places - how long
does it take to melt in your mouth? What does this tell you about
the temperature of your body?
Try melting the chocolate and then letting it go solid again.
What happens if you melt this again? How long does it take?
What happens if you use different types of chocolate - white,
milk and dark? Does one type take longer to melt than others?
How long does it take your
chocolate to look like this?
What's happening?
At a certain temperature, chocolate begins to turn from a solid
to a liquid - it melts. If it's a hot day,
sunlight can melt chocolate - something you don't normally want to
happen!
The taste and melting point of chocolate depend on how the
chocolate is made. If you let chocolate melt and re-harden, it
forms a different structure. This gives it a different taste,
texture and melting point.