Name ___________________________________Date ___________ Per. ___
Scientific Method Bubble Gum Lab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE1re4uNpN0
You have been hired by “A Bubble Gum Company.” They want you to run some
tests to find out which type of gum will blow better bubbles: regular gum or sugar
free gum. You will report your findings to the company president, once you have
completed your testing.
You have decided to run your test on 6th graders using Dubble Bubble gum and
Extra sugar free bubble gum.
Part I. The Question: Use the steps of the scientific method to figure out which
type of bubble gum, sugar free or regular, is better for blowing bubbles?
The term “better” is a vague and unclear. You and your partner will first
need to decide what you mean by “better” as you begin this experiment.
How will you test this?
For example, better could mean: Bigger bubbles, a better success rate at
blowing bubbles, or, it could mean something else.
Define what YOU mean by “better”: _________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
Once you decide on what you mean by “better”, you will need to write out
your hypothesis and then show me your work BEFORE moving on.
Part II. Outcomes and Hypothesis
Outcomes: What are the 3 possible outcomes for your experiment (based
on the question)?
1.____________________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________________
3._____________________________________________________________
Hypothesis:
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
STOP…
Show me your lab work so far. After I initial the line below, you can move on
to the next part of the lab.
__________________
Part III. Variables. Write out your variables in complete sentences. Use the
word SAME for all of your CV’s.
IV: _______________________________________________________
DV: _______________________________________________________
CV: _______________________________________________________
CV: _______________________________________________________
CV: _______________________________________________________
Part IV. Materials and Procedure:
Depending on how you defined the word “better”, come up with the list of
materials you will need to run your experiment.
____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________.
Procedure: Write the procedure for your lab. Be sure to give detailed steps.
Once you show me the procedure and I approve it, then I will give you the gum
needed to run your experiment.
*****Write the procedure you will use on a separate sheet of loose-leaf paper
Start out with: Step 1. Gather materials.
STOP…
Show me your procedure. After I initial on the line below, you can move on
to the next part of the lab.
_____________
Part V. Observations and Data Collection:
Qualitative Observations. Make some observations before you chew the gum
and while you are chewing the gum. Record them on the chart below.
Ex. Can you smell the difference between the two types of gum? Describe the color of the gum, the
shape of the gum etc. Be specific with your observations.
Use the 5 senses to describe the gum. Fill out the chart below.
Dubble Bubble (sugar gum)
Extra (sugar-free gum)
Quantitative Observations: Create your data table. (use a separate sheet of
paper for your data table. Remember to give title and column headings.
Part VI: Data Analysis
1. Make a double bar graph from the data you collected based on your
definition of “better”. Give a Title, labels, and color bars.
2. Look over your data. Are there any outliers? __________
3. What could have caused an outlier for this experiment? (even if you did
not have any)?
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Part VII Conclusions:
1. What type of gum did you predict would blow the “better” bubbles?
_____________
2. Was your hypothesis correct? __________
3. What type of gum is the best at blowing bubbles and why? Support your
answer using observations and your data. Use complete sentences.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
4. Come up with a good, thoughtful “what if” question.
What if _____________________________________________________?
5. Explain why your results for this experiment are valid.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
6. Were your results for this lab are reliable? _________ Explain.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Ask your parents:
1. Based on your definition for “better” ask your parents to predict which type of
gum they think would be better to blow a bubble.
Which gum did they predict? ___________________
Were they correct (based on your data)? ___________________
2. What was their favorite gum to chew when they were a kid?
_______________________
3. Why was that gum their favorite? ____________________________
_______________________________________________________.
4. What are some scientific facts about chewing gum? Use links below to help:
Background: History of Chewing gum: Check out some of these websites.
1.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bladams.htm
2. http://www.gumball.com/history-of-dubble-bubble.aspx
3. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-bubble-gum-is-made.html
4. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-chewing-gumand-bubble-gum.htm
5. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/largest-bubblegum-bubble-blown/
Fact about chewing gum:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
Check this out….
1. See if you can find out the story behind Bubble Yum and spider eggs?
What did you learn? ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
2. Below are the list of ingredients in the gum you chewed in class. Look up
any one ingredient that you don’t know and get a little information about it.
Ingredients Of Dubble Bubble Gum
Sugar, Dextrose, corn syrup, gun base, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors,
artificial color (FD&C red 3) corn starch, BHT
Ingredients Of Extra Classic Bubble Gum (sugar free)
Sorbitol , Gum Base , Glycerol , Mannitol , Flavors Natural & Artificial , Contains
less than 22% of , Starch Hydrolysate Hydrogenated , Soy Lecithin , Aspartame ,
Acesulfame K , Colors , Red 40 Lake , Yellow 6 , Sucralose , BHT
Ingredient ______________________
Information: _____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.