BGMS Lab Report
Name: ________________________________________
Lab Partners: ___________________________________
Class: _________________
Date:________________
Period: ________________
Teacher: _____________
Lab Title: Does your bubble gum change mass?
Introduction:
Gum has been in use by people around the world from thousands of years in various forms and flavors. It has
been recorded by archaeologists that men and women thousands of year ago, chewed gum in the form of tree
resin lumps. They enjoyed gum in this form as much as people enjoy gum today.
Chewing gum was first sold commercially in 1848 when the Curtis brothers, residents of Maine, experimented
on spruce tree resin and made a sticky, rubbery material which they tried and chewed. They found that
interesting to chew it and thought that it could make money for them. This was the first time in history when
the chewing gum was sold commercially. Two years after their successful experiment with the spruce tree
resin, which they converted into gum, they started with their first major gum manufacturing plant. They also
added flavor to the gum and introduced paraffin in it to give extra soft and rubbery feel. The plant was named
"Curtis Chewing Gum Factory".
Gum, like any other object as a mass. And when we chew it we have to wonder;


Does the mass change after gum is chewed?
What variables affect the mass of gum?
Hypothesis:
Using the information above and a format called “if…then,” write your hypothesis in the space below.
For example:
If I chew a piece of bubble gum then mass of the gum will change.
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Materials:
 Pencil/Lab report
 Triple beam balance
 Tissue
 One piece of bubble gum in the wrapper
 Your mouth
 Markers and/or colored pencils
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
Stop watch
2011 - 2012 BGMS Lab Report: Chewing gum for science! (adapted from http://www2.fcsconline.org/staff/ferrisa/bubble%20gum%20lab.pdf)
Procedures:
1. Make sure that you have each of the items listed in the materials section of the lab report. If you are
missing something, please raise your hand to let your teacher know. Your bin should have everything
listed above except your lap report, pencil, and your mouth
Data Recording: (Record the data that is required for each step of the lab: tables, charts, graphs, sketches,
etc.)
1. Working in groups of four. Each member of the group should measure the mass of the bubble gum while it is
still in the wrapper. Find the measurement to the nearest 0.1 gram. Record your data in the table under the
column Mass of unchewed gum.
2. Next, get the stop watch ready and set to time chewing of the gum for 10 minutes. After ten minutes you should
have little or no flavor left in the gum.
3. Then, unwrap the gum, place it in your mouth and have someone in the group start the stop watch. The group
should start chewing at the same time.
4. After ten minutes, have someone in the group stop the watch, put the gum back in the wrapper.
5. Place the chewed gum and wrapper on the balance and record the measurement to the nearest 0.1 gram.
Record your data in the table under the column mass of chewed gum.
6. Next, record the data for each of the other people in your group.
7. Then, complete the other columns by calculating the mass of sugard (subtracted the gum before it was chewed
and after it was chewed).
8. Finally, complete the column that asks you to determine the percentage of mass loss.
Mass of
unchewed gum
(g)
Mass of chewed
gum (g)
Mass loss after
chewing (g)
Mass of sugar in
gum (g)
Percentage of
mass loss
Your Data
Student #2
Student #3
Student #4
Average
Conclusion: (Evaluate your observations and data, make generalizations)
You’ve chewed gum and measured the mass of it before and after!!! Great job!!! Now go back and look at
your hypothesis. Is it accurate? Did it only require one test to figure out your prediction? Do you need to
change your hypothesis?
Using the space below, list 5 things you have NOTICED about chewing gum.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________________
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2011 - 2012 BGMS Lab Report: Chewing gum for science! (adapted from http://www2.fcsconline.org/staff/ferrisa/bubble%20gum%20lab.pdf)
3. ____________________________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Questions:
How did your percentage compare with your average? _____________________________________________
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List two explanations that would explain the differences in the percentages. ____________________________
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How will the loss in weight compare between sugar and sugarless gum? _______________________________
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Which type of gum do you think would lose the most mass – mint flavored, fruit flavored, or cinnamon
flavored? Explain your answer. ________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
Use the data, activities, and your general knowledge of science respond to the following situation. Remember
to use complete sentences.
At lunch, a fellow student at BGMS comes up to you with two pieces of gum. One is a stick and one is a cube.
The stick has a pre-chewed mass of 0.7g and the cube has a pre-chewed mass of 1.0g. Based your knowledge
of gum and the changes in mass - Which piece do you choose to get the most sugar? Why?
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2011 - 2012 BGMS Lab Report: Chewing gum for science! (adapted from http://www2.fcsconline.org/staff/ferrisa/bubble%20gum%20lab.pdf)