Bubble Gum Lab

A Sweet Lesson on Inquiry

Akimel A-al Middle School

6th Grade Science

Do you know why bubble gum is pink?

The color of the first successful bubble gum was pink because it

was the only color the inventor had left. The color “stuck" and today bubble gum is still mostly pink.

Bubble gum is a type of chewing gum that is especially designed for blowing bubbles. It is available in many different colors and flavors. The most common flavor is the distinctive one also known as "bubblegum", which is a combination of wintergreen, vanilla, and cassia, which is a type of cinnamon.

Bubble Gum Facts:• During WW1, US military personnel spread the

popularity of chewing gum by trading it and giving it as gifts to people in Europe, Africa, Asia and around the world.

• The first patent for chewing gum was issued in 1869 to William F. Semple, a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio.

• The largest bubble ever blown was 23 inches in diameter. The record was set on July 19, 1994 by Susan Montgomery Willams of Fresno California.

• Ancient Greeks chewed a gum like substance called mastic. Women especially liked gum because it cleaned their teeth and it exercised their jaw muscles.

• The longest gum wrapper chain on record was 7,400 feet in length and was made by Cathy Ushler of Redmond, WA between 1969-1992.

How Bubble Gum is Made.• The gum's ingredients are melted and filtered. • Powered sugar, glucose syrup, flavoring and the other

ingredients are slowly added to the gum base until the warm mix thickness like dough.

• Machines called extruders are used to blend, smooth, and form the gum.

• It's time for gum to be shaped. Gum can be flattened and cut into sticks, or squeezed into a rope shape and cut into chunks, or molded into shapes, and candy coated.

• After the gum is cut or molded into the appropriate shape, it's lightly sprinkled with powdered sweetener to keep it from sticking to machinery.

• In carefully temperature controlled room, the gum is cooled for up to 48 hours. This allows the gum to properly set.

• If the gum is candy coated, like most gum balls or pellet gum, it's sprayed again. This process is repeated several times until the candy shell reaches the proper thickness.

The Scientific Method1. Lab Title

2. Problem (question)

3. Hypothesis (what you think will happen, based on experience and research If… then…)

4. Independent Variable (one thing you change)

5. Dependent Variable (what you measure)

6. Materials (shopping list)

7. Procedure (number each step)

8. Data (data table or chart and written observations and pictures)

9. Results – graph your data

10.Conclusion – Explain how your hypothesis was supported/not supported by the data

from your experiment– Identify any possible errors or factors that could have affected your

experiment– Discuss what you might do differently next time, what other related

experiments you would want to do, what you would do differently next time

Research Questions vs. Testable Questions.

• Research questions: can be answered by looking them up.– How many calories are in a stick of gum?– How much fat is in a stick of gum?– What is the most expensive gum?

• Testable questions: can be answered by performing an experiment– Which flavor of gum lasts the longest?– Which brand of gum makes the biggest

bubbles?

Lab Write Up• TITLE: Bubble Gum Lab

• PROBLEM: What happens to the mass of gum after chewing for 10 minutes?– Mass = The amount of matter an object has.– the weight of an object includes the force of gravity on

that object (If we traveled to the moon, we would have the same mass but we would less on the moon than here on Earth because there is less gravity).

– For our lab, we will measure mass by the weight of the object in grams (g)

Hypothesis• HYPOTHESIS: what you think will happen

& why• Write in the If… then…because…format• If I chew gum for 10 minutes, then the

mass will– Stay the same because…– Increase because…– Decrease because…

Variables• Independent Variable – the one thing you

change• The type of bubble gum

• Dependent Variable – The one thing you measure

• Mass of gum in grams (g)

Materials

• Triple Beam Balance• 6 different flavors of bubble gum• Timer• Wax paper

Triple-Beam Balance• We often use a triple-beam balance to measure mass.• With the pan empty, move the three sliders on the three beams to their

leftmost positions, so that the balance reads zero. • If the indicator on the far right is not aligned with the fixed mark, then

calibrate the balance by turning the set screw on the left under the pan. • Once the balance has been calibrated, place the object to be

measured on the pan. • Move the 100 gram slider along the beam to the right until the indicator

drops below the fixed mark. The notched position immediately to the left of this point indicates the number of hundreds of grams.

• Now move the 10 gram slider along the beam to the right until the indicator drops below the fixed mark. The notched position immediately to the left of this point indicates the number of tens of grams.

• The beam in front is not notched; the slider can move anywhere along the beam. The boldface numbers on this beam are grams and the tick marks between the boldface numbers indicate tenths of grams.

• To find the mass of the object on the pan, simple add the numbers from the three beams.

• As with a ruler, it is possible to read the front scale to the nearest half tick mark.

What is the mass showing?

Click here for an online interactive triple-beam balance!

Procedure1. Weigh the gum

• Place the un-chewed gum on the triple beam balance

• Find and record the weight in grams (g)

2. Chew the gum for 10 minutes• No talking

3. Weigh the gum again• Place the chewed gum back on the triple

beam balance• Find and record the weight in grams (g)

Data

Mass of gum before chewing: ______gMass of gum after chewing: _______g

Data Chart for Class

Graph the Data

Rainb

lo

Hubba

Bub

ba

Bubba

licio

us

Bazoo

ka

Doubl

e Bub

ble

Orbit W

hite

SF

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

By Golly By Gum

Total Mass

Chewed Mass

Brands of Gum

Ma

ss

in g

ram

s

Conclusion1. Explain how your hypothesis was supported/not supported

by the data from your experiment– My hypothesis was not supported. I predicted the mass

of the gum would increase (or stay the same) but the mass of the gum decreased. The mass of the gum went from ___g to ___g. or

– My hypothesis was supported. I predicted the mass of the gum would decrease and it did decrease. The mass of the gum went from ___g to ___g

2. Identify any possible errors or factors that could have affected your experiment

3. Discuss what you might do differently next time, what other related experiments you would want to do, what you would do differently next time