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How to Distinguish Between Table Sugar & Table Salt by Dissolving Them in Water

Table salt and table sugar are both commonly found in the home. While both are white in appearance, the composition of salt is different that that of sugar. By dissolving table salt and table sugar in ordinary tap water you can see how each reacts, as this will differentiate them.

Things You'll Need

Newspaper
2 16-ounce glass tumblers
2 measuring cups
2 wooden stir sticks

Instructions

- 1
  Place a sheet of newspaper on a table. Place the two 16-ounce glass tumblers on the newspaper side by side. Fill each of the tumblers halfway with cold tap water.
- 2
  Pour 1 ounce of table salt into one of the two measuring cups. Pour 1 ounce of table sugar into the other measuring cup. Place a wooden stir stick into each tumbler.
- 3
  Pour the sugar in one of the measuring cups into the tumbler to your left. Pour the salt in the other measuring cup into the tumbler to your right.
- 4
  Rotate each stir stick clockwise at the same time for 20 seconds to stir the mixtures. Stop stirring and let the water in both tumblers become still.
- 5
  Look for the tumbler that still has a residue which indicates that it is table salt. This is because the table salt can not completely dissolve in cold water, as is the case with the table sugar.

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