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A chemical garden is an experiment which is performed by the addition of solid metal salts such as copper sulfate or cobalt(II) chloride to an aqueous solution of sodium silicate. This results in formation of plant like forms in minutes to hours.

In its original form, the chemical garden involved the introduction of ferrous chloride (FeCl2) crystals into a solution of potassium silicate (K2SiO3).

Common salts used in a chemical garden

Cobalt(II) chloride crystals - (Purple)

Copper(II) sulfate crystals - (Blue)

Aluminium potassium sulfate crystals - (White)

Chromium(III) chloride crystals - (Green)

Nickel(II) sulfate crystals - (Green)

Iron(II) sulfate crystals - (Green)

Iron(III) chloride crystals - (Orange)

The chemical garden relies on the fact that most transition metal silicates are insoluble in water and are coloured.

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12y ago

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