Lab: GUM & the Scientific Method

Lab: GUM & the Scientific Method Question: ______

Hypothesis: If ______then ______because ______

Materials: triple-beam, balance, 5 gum brands, calculator, stopwatch Variables & Controls  Independent Variable: ______ Dependent Variable: ______ Control Group: ______ Controls: ______

Procedures 1. We’re going to be working in groups of 5 to collect data for 5 types of gum. You will be responsible for 1 brand of gum each. 2. Leave the gum in its wrapper. Use a balance to find the gum & wrapper mass to the nearest 0.1 gram. Record. 3. Chew the gum for 4 minutes. Place it back in the wrapper. Find the mass of the chewed gum. Record. 4. Repeat step 3 twice more. 5. Share your data with your group and complete the rest of the table below. 6. You may chew your gum during this period, but need to spit it out before you leave. Mass (grams) Before Gum Brand After Chewing Overall Brand Information Chewin 12 4 minutes 8 minutes Change g minutes  10 calories, 2g sugar 1. Juicy Fruit  Main Ingredients: sugar, gum base, corn syrup, dextrose, flavorings  10 calories, 2g sugar 2. Doublemint  Main Ingredients: sugar, gum base, dextrose, corn syrup, flavorings  <5 calories, 1g sugar alcohol 3. Trident  Main Ingredients: sorbitol, Sugarfree gum base, glycerin, mannitol, flavorings 4. Wrigley’s  5 calories, 2g sugar alcohol Sugarfree  Main Ingredients: sorbitol, gum base, glycerol, flavorings 5. Trident  <5 calories, 2 g sugar alcohol White  Main Ingredients: sorbitol, Sugarfree gum base, maltitol, manitol, flavorings Data Table Analysis 1. Which gum brand had the greatest change in mass? ______2. Which gum brand had the least change in mass? ______3. Create a Bar Graph for each brand of gum, including Before Chewing and After 12 minutes of Chewing.

as 3.0

(g 2.6 ra 2.4 m 2.2 s) 2.0

0.2 Before Chewed Before Chewed Before Chewed Before Chewed Before Chewed 0.0 Brand 1 Brand 2 Brand 3 Brand 4 Brand 5

Conclusion 4. Provide a scientific explanation for what happened to the mass of gum as you chewed it. ______

5. How did the gum brand affect the change in mass? Does sugarfree gum lose more or less mass than gum with sugar? ______

6. Do you think the gum’s volume changed too? Explain. ______

7. What does this lab have to do with the scientific method? ______

8. What steps could we take to make our data more accurate? ______