Bubble Time
Patrick loves bubble gum and would like to be able to blow bigger bubbles than anyone else in
Bikini Bottom. To prepare for the Bikini Bottom Big Bubble Contest, he bought five different brands of bubble gum and needs your help to find the brand that creates the biggest bubbles.
Write an experiment to test the bubble power of the bubble gum brands and help Patrick win the contest.
Check-in #1:
Purpose: Which brand of bubble gum makes the biggest bubble – Bubblicious, Bubble Yum, Bazooka
Joe, Trident, or Hubba Bubba?
Experimental Design (Variables):
Independent Variable: Type of bubble gum (Bubblicious, Bubble Yum, Bazooka Joe, Trident, or Hubba
Bubba)
Dependent Variable: Size of bubble, measured in centimeters using a ruler from the mouth to the edge of the bubble
Control Group: Trident bubble gum
Controlled Variables: Same flavor of bubble gum, Equal number of chews before you blow the bubble,
Equal time that the gum is in your mouth, Same person testing all 5 brands
Hypothesis: I think that Hubba Bubba bubble gum makes the biggest bubbles.
Check-in #2 :
Resources:
1
Website:
Notes:
2
Website:
Notes:
3
Website:
Notes:

Research:
Sample #1:
Bubble gum is made by melting the gum base. Then, flavors, sugars, and sweeteners are added. Then, the gum is rolled thin, and cut to fit in the packaging. Sweeteners that replace sugar in gum include sorbitol, xylitol, maltilol, acesulfame K, and aspartame. Bubblicious, Bubble Yum, and Bazooka Joe are made with sugar. Hubba Bubba is made with sorbitol instead of sugar. Trident is made with xylitol instead of sugar.
Sample #2:
Fifty percent of Americans chew gum. Bubble Yum is available in six regular flavors, as well as two sugarless varieties. The ancient Greeks chewed a gum-like substance called mastic that came from the bark of a tree. Bazooka Joe is named after a comic strip character that was included with the gum.
Which sample paragraph do you think is a better research paragraph?
Revised Hypothesis: I think that Trident bubble gum makes the biggest bubbles because it is made with xylitol.

Does the brand of bubble gum affect the size of the bubble blown?
Check-in #3 :
Materials:

Bubble Yum gum (bubble gum flavor)

Trident gum (bubble gum flavor)

Hubba Bubba gum (original flavor)

Ruler

Pencil and empty data table (see below)

Bubble gum expert blower
Procedure:
1. Weigh each piece of the Bubble Yum, Trident, and Hubba Bubba gum.
2. Tear off a section of any piece of gum that is over 2 grams. Each piece of gum should be the same size.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have 3 pieces of each brand of gum that weighs 2 grams.
4. Chew the first piece of the Bubble Yum gum for one minute and blow a bubble with the gum.
Measure the diameter of the bubble in centimeters before it pops. Record this number under
“Trial 1” column for Bubble Yum.
5. Chew the second piece of the Bubble Yum gum for one minute and blow a bubble with the gum.
Measure the diameter of the bubble in centimeters before it pops. Record this number under
“Trial 2” column for Bubble Yum.
6. Chew the third piece of the Bubble Yum gum for one minute and blow a bubble with the gum.
Measure the diameter of the bubble in centimeters before it pops. Record this number under
“Trial 3” column for Bubble Yum.
7. Average the diameters for trials 1 through 3 and record this number under the “Average
Diameter” column for Bubble Yum.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 for Trident gum and Hubba Bubba gum.

Analysis:
Empty data table:
Bubble Yum
Trident
Hubba Bubba
Trial 1
Empty graph with labels and title:
Bubble Diameter (in cm)
Trial 2 Trial 3 Average