M&M Survival Challenge
Science Bus 10/17/11 & 10/18/11
Adapted from activity at http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/Zoo_p012.shtml
Abstract
In the wild there are two types of animals: the hunters and the hunted. A good predator is always on
the prowl for fresh prey. What can an animal do to stay off of the menu? Find out how some animals
use camouflage, and why sometimes it is best to blend in with your surroundings. In this experiment,
you will be the hungry predator hunting for M&M prey. So work up that appetite and go hunting! You
might be surprised at which M&Ms avoid your grasp! Each group will have a different habitat and
communicate the results to the group.
Objective
In this science project you will hunt for M&M® prey in a series of different habitats to discover which
M&M's® survive in each habitat and why.
Introduction
Nature can be brutal. The harsh reality is that if you are not a hunter, then you are being hunted, also
known as the prey. What do animals do to avoid being eaten? Some animals develop defense
mechanisms, like porcupine quills or the plated armor of an armadillo. Other animals develop gross
tastes on their bodies, or poisonous mucus coatings.
This pattern of animals developing strategies to survive is called adaptation, and it is a mechanism
for evolution. You may have heard the famous phrase "survival of the fittest," which Charles Darwin
used to describe this natural phenomenon. In order to survive in nature, you need to be fit, and
fitting in to your environment is very important to avoid being eaten!
The most common way that animals can avoid being eaten by a predator is by an adaptation
called camouflage. Camouflage is a set of colorings or markings on an animal that help it to blend in
with the surroundings and increase its chance for survival. The surrounding environment that the
animal hides in is called the habitat, or the place where the animal lives.
Each animal needs to adapt to a unique habitat, and animals adapt in all kinds of interesting ways.
Katydids, which live in green leafy trees, have adapted to their habitat by having a bright green body
shaped like a leaf. Chameleons, which change habitats often in the colorful jungle, have adapted a
way of changing their skin color to match their immediate environment. Decorator crabs have adapted
by learning how to cover their shells with debris to blend in with their habitat.
Here is a game you can play with your friends to learn about adaptation. Get a box and fill it with
clothes for different kinds of weather: a hat and sunglasses; a rain coat and an umbrella; a winter
coat, hat, sweater, etc. Have one person announce a habitat (like the rain forest) and race to see who
can find and put on the proper outfit (like the raincoat and boots) to adapt to that habitat. Who is the
fastest? How do your made-up adaptations compare to natural adaptations that wild animals use in
their natural habitats?
In the science project below, you will test how adaptation and survival work by using M&M candies as
your prey. You will hunt for the M&M's in different-colored "habitats" to test whether some M&M's do
better in some habitats than others. Then you can discover which M&M's are best suited to survive in
each habitat.
Remember kids are the natural predicators of M&M
Terms, Concepts, and Questions to Start Background Research
To do this science project, you should do research that enables you to understand the following terms
and concepts:

Prey

Adaptation

Survival

Predator

Environment

Habitat

camouflage
Bibliography

Armstrong, W.P. (n.d.). Photos of Ecological Adaptations #1. Retrieved December 28, 2005
from
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexe10b.htm

American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). Darwin for Kids and Families. Retrieved
December 28, 2005 from the American Museum of Natural History's website:
http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/exhibitions/darwin/families/

Missouri Botanical Garden. (2005). What's it Like Where You Live? Retrieved December 28,
2005 from the Missouri Botanical Garden's website:
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/
Materials and Equipment

Colored paper (6 large pieces). One piece each of white, blue, brown, red, yellow, green. The
color of the paper should match the color of the M&M's as closely as possible. As long as the
colors match well, any type of paper (construction paper, tissue paper, etc.) will work.

Mixture of different color of beans

Plastic baggies (6)

M&M's (2 23.1-oz packages; you will only need five of the six colors)

Stopwatch

2-4 volunteer predators who like to eat M&M's
Experimental Procedure
1. First you will need to prepare six groups of "prey" by counting and placing equal numbers of
M&M's into separate plastic baggies.
2. Place 20 M&M's of each color into each baggie: 20 brown, 20 red, 20 yellow, 20 green, and 20
orange. There should be a total of 100 M&M's in each baggie.
3. Prepare different "habitats" with six large pieces of paper in a series of different colors up to
the number of groups: white, blue, red, yellow, green, or brown. If you have small sheets of
paper, you may want to tape together four sheets of paper to make one large piece for each
color.
4. Gather together a pack of 2-4 volunteer "predators." This can be anybody who likes to eat
M&M's as much as you do: a friend, brother, sister, mom, dad, grandparent, etc.
5. Explain the rules of the game to your predators:
"First, I will pour one bag of M&M's on a colored sheet of paper. Then I will set the timer for
10 seconds. When I say go, I will start the timer and all of you will pick up and eat the M&M's
until the timer beeps. You may only use two fingers to pick up the M&M's, and your other hand
must be behind your back. When the timer beeps, stop eating. I will count the number of
M&M's of each color that are left. Then you will repeat it again for the rest of the colors of
paper."
6. Put the first habitat down in the middle of your group of predators. Make sure everyone can
reach the paper.
7. Pour one of your bags of M&M's out onto the paper. Make sure that all of the M&M's are on the
paper. Pour beans onto the surface
8. Set your timer for 10 seconds.
9. Say, Go! and start the timer. When the timer beeps, everyone should stop eating M&M's.
10. Count the M&M's that are left on the paper and record the colors left in a data table in your lab
notebook, like the one shown below:
Habitat
Starting
Number
Red
M&M's
20
Brown
M&M's
20
Green
M&M's
20
Yellow
M&M's
20
Orange
M&M's
20
White Paper
Yellow Paper
Red Paper
Green Paper
Blue Paper
Brown Paper
11. Repeat steps 6-10 for all of the other colored paper "habitats." Split environments into groups
and have each group give results to the class.
12. Look at your data. Do you notice any interesting patterns between the color of the paper and
the color of the M&M's that were eaten? What is different about the white "habitat" than the
other colored habitats? How do you think this same survival strategy would work in the wild?
13. If there is time –Adaptation and evolution.
14. In the wild, adaptation and evolution happen over several generations because only the fittest
survive to make new offspring. There is a way to test this phenomenon with the M&M science
project. Pick one colored paper habitat and randomly put the contents of an entire package of
M&M's on it. After a round of predation, as was described in steps 6-10 above, double the
number of M&M's that are left by adding a colored M&M to match the color of each M&M that is
left. For instance, if there are 4 red and 2 brown M&M's left, then add 4 more red and 2 more
brown M&M's. Then repeat another round of predation. How many rounds does it take to get
all the same colored M&M's?
Predator, Prey, and Habitats
Who Eats Who?
Predator
Lion
Cat
Squirrel
Owl
Anteater
Fox
Caterpillar
You
How does prey survive being eaten by predators?
Prey
Nut
Ant
Squirrel
Zebra
Rabbit
Leaf
Mouse
M&Ms
Predator, Prey, and Habitats
Who Eats Who?
Predator
Lion
Cat
Squirrel
Owl
Anteater
Fox
Caterpillar
You
How does prey survive being eaten by predators?
Hide in Habitat
Blend-in/Camouflage
Be faster
Be Smarter
Stay in a group
Defense
Etc.
Prey
Nut
Ant
Squirrel
Zebra
Rabbit
Leaf
Mouse
M&Ms