Name:
Date:
Block:
Gummy Bear Osmosis
Purpose/Problem:
The purpose of this experiment is to see what changes occur in mass, volume and
density of a gummy bear when put into water overnight.
Research:
For this experiment, there was no research conducted.
Hypothesis:
If a gummy bear is put into water overnight, then the density of the gummy bear
will have increased because…
OR
If a gummy bear is put into water overnight, then the density of the gummy bear
will have decreased because…
Materials:
 Gummy Bears (2)
 Balance
 Paper Towels
 Plastic Bathroom Cup
 Water
 Calculator
 Graduated Cylinder
 Worksheet to Record Data
Procedure/Experiment:
Control Set Up- Day 1
1. Measure the mass of the control gummy bear (the gummy bear that is the
standard for comparison) to the nearest tenth of a gram using a balance.
Record your answer.
2. Measure the gummy bear’s volume as an irregular shaped object; fill up a
graduated cylinder with a certain amount of water, place the gummy bear in
the graduated cylinder, and measure the difference in milliliters.
3. Calculate the density of the gummy bear as an irregular object by dividing
mass by the volume. Record answer.
4. Now place a gummy bear in bathroom cup with water overnight and write
the block on the cup. This will be your variable.
Variable Set Up – Day 2
1. Repeat steps 1-3 as listed above with the gummy bear that was left in water
overnight (the variable).
Analysis:
Item
Mass
(g)
Volume as an
Irregular Shape
(mL)
Density as an
Irregular Shape
(g/mL)
Non Saturated Gummy
Bear (Control)
Saturated Gummy Bear
(Variable)
Amount of
Change
The mass of the original gummy bear was ______ g and the gummy bear
increased to a size of _____g overnight, for a difference of _______g. The
volume of the original gummy bear was _________ mL and the gummy
bear’s volume increased to _________mL overnight, for a difference of
_________mL. The density of the original gummy bear was _____g/mL and
the gummy bear’s density actually decreased overnight to _______g/mL, for a
difference of _______ g/mL. In this experiment, the independent variable was
the gummy bears and the dependent variable was the density in g/mL.
This data shows that the density of the gummy bear decreased overnight.
This occurred because the gummy bear had a higher density than the water
(1.25 g/ml), and when left overnight, the water was absorbed by the gummy
bear, making it less dense (because water’s density is 1.0g/mL). There were
no known recorded errors in this experiment.
The conclusion does four things:
1) Repeats the purpose of the experiment.
2) Repeats your hypothesis (and whether or not it was correct).
3) Explain any abnormalities in the experiment.
4) Sums up the data you collected.
Conclusion:
In science class, we are studying mass, volume, and density. As an
experiment, we wanted to see if the density of a gummy bear would change
if left in water. The purpose of this experiment is to see what changes
occur in mass, volume and density of a gummy bear when put into water
overnight. My hypothesis was correct/incorrect because I said that …
Explain the results (information that you found important for your
analysis.) Make sure to explain what you think happened to the gummy
bear and why you got the results you did.
The density of the original gummy bear was _____g/mL and the gummy
bear’s density actually decreased overnight to _______g/mL, for a
difference of _______ g/mL. My data shows that the density of the
gummy bear decreased overnight. This occurred because the gummy bear
had a higher density than the water (1.25 g/ml), and when left overnight,
the water was absorbed by the gummy bear, making it less dense (because
waters density is 1.0g/mL).
Were there any errors in your experiment? Make sure to explain why you
would have gotten different results.
There were no known recorded errors in this experiment.
Any questions you had or other experiments you could do?
In a future experiment, I could leave the gummy bear in longer to see
whether the density decreases proportionally over time.