Science Gummy Bear Experiment

Here's the notes we took in class during our experiment. Enjoy!

Question: How does the size of a Gummy Bear change when soaked in water?

Research:  Youtube videos, Google search, books about science experiments, ask an expert

Hypothesis: We think the Gummy Bear’s size will expand and become larger because it will absorb the water.

Experiment Procedure:

·       Place 1 G.B. in 25 mL of water

·       Observe the G.B.

·       Put 1 wet G.B. on one side of the pan balance and 1 dry G.B. on the other side

·       Take the wet G.B. and use gram pieces to measure how much it weighs

·       Measure the weight of a dry G.B. and compare mass

 Materials:

·       Water

·       Beaker

·       2 Gummy Bears

·       Paper towel

·       Pan balance

·       Gram pieces

·       2 plastic cups

Data:

Total Time (min.)	Mass (g)	Length (mm)
Start	3 g	20 mm
2	3g	17mm
4	3g	14mm
6	2g	13mm
8	2g	8mm
78	4g	20 mm
overnight	7g	37mm

Graph: glue line graph in your notebook

 Conclusion: Was our hypothesis correct? Look at the graph and describe what you learned about Gummy Bears and water.

Yes, our hypothesis was correct. We predicted the G.B. size would expand because it would absorb the water. The original size was 20 mm and it grew to 37 mm for a total growth in length of 17 mm. However, after 8 minutes the G.B. shrank to 8 mm. It decreased in size 12 mm, but then continued to increase 29 mm to 37 mm. We also know that it expanded because the mass increased 3g to 7g for a growth in mass of 4g. However, at 6 and 8 minutes the mass decreased to 2 g so the overall mass increase was 5g. Our hypothesis was correct because the length and mass of the G.B. increased.

What was the independent variable? Time in minutes

Dependent variable? Length in mm and the mass in g

Controlled variables? Water temperature, amount of water, same type of G.B., location, cups, pan balance