Objective: To devise an experiment to examine the change in bubble gum due to the oral digestion process.

Variable Choices:Weight, Length (Stretchiness), Bubble Size

Background Information: You will need to do a little research and look things up for this section.

At least one paragraph, explaining what oral digestion is (ie: chewing your food), what helps/aids in the oral digestion of your food (Consider the macromolecule and enzymes involved), and how it affects the break-down of food. Connect this section to the purpose of the lab.

Purpose:What is it showing and what is it going to prove?

Question: What is the question you are going to answer?

Hypothesis: What you do think will happen? (If… then… because format)

Controlled Variables: List all of the variables need to remain the same throughout the testing process.

Independent variable:List the variable that is deliberately changed by the experimenter.

Dependent Variables: Please list the variable (thing) that changes/ is observed (measured) in response to the independent variable.

Materials List: Make a very detailed list of all the materials that you will use for your project and the initials of the group members responsible for getting them. All materials MUST be here by next class. You need to get your own gum, I probably already have all of the rest, but check with me to make sure.

Procedures: Write detailed and step-by-step procedures describing how you will test the variable you have selected. Please include all specifications (amounts, mass, number of trials, frequency, etc.). You need to do a minimum of 3 trials per situation.

Data Table: Create a data table that you will input your data into.

Graph: Graph: You can do this on the computer once you have collected your data. (you should have practiced this already in advisory) Make sure both the X and Y axis are labeled and your graph has a title.

Analysis: Write at least one paragraph describing what happened in your experiment (what does your data tell you?), what were your results, and what did you find out by doing your experiment. The idea is to explain what your results were as if you didn’t have a graph or data table to show.

Conclusion: Write at least one paragraph including all of the following: Restate your question, answer your hypothesis, list all errors that might have occurred that may not have given you the most accurate data, and suggest additions to this lab to gain better, more accurate data to your information.

Class ID / Password
4th Period / 11267993 / Bio4th
5th Period / 11268004 / Bio5th

SUBMIT TO TURN IT IN BY DEC 16th by Midnight! Register for the correct Biology class using the following Class ID and Password.

Miranda Jones

12/17/14

5th Period Biology

Background Information:

I know from previous science classes that the mouth is the first step in food digestion and important chemical reactions happen with the food in saliva that starts the breakdown of the digestion. I also know that enzymes are involved in chemical reactions and more specifically, speed them up.

The enzyme in your mouth that helps speed up digestion is called amylase. Amylase reacts with the macromolecule carbohydrates and speeds up the rate at which your food breaks down; knowing this, I can guess that the enzyme would also help break down gum because it contains sugar which is a simple carbohydrate.

Purpose:In this experiment, I will be testing the relations between enzymes and chemical reactions happening in the mouth while chewing and the breakdown of the gum.

Question: Will different types of gum break down differently over time due to oral digestion?

Hypothesis: If we chew gum with and without sugar, then the gum without sugar will have more mass over time, because it doesn’t contain sugar which is broken down by amylase.

Controlled Variables: In order to get accurate results we will have to have some controlled variable that will not change; in this lab the controls are the person chewing the gum, the starting mass, and the amount of time chewing.

Independent Variable:We will change the type of gum being chewed- one brand will be sugar free and one will have sugar.

Dependent Variables:For our dependent variable will be measuring the ending mass of the chewed gum after 2, 4, and 6 minutes.

Materials List:

  • 1 Timer
  • 1 Scale
  • 1 Calculator
  • 4 pieces Trident Sugar-Free Cinnamon Gum
  • 4 pieces Big Red (Sugar) Gum
  • Wax Paper
  • Scissors

Procedures:

  1. Gather materials (see materials list)
  2. Place 1 piece of wax paper on the scale and zero (Tare) it.
  3. Unwrap gum piece 1 of Sugar Free gum and measure it’s mass
  4. Record mass
  5. Unwrap Piece 1 of Sugar Gum and measure and record it’s mass by following steps 2-4
  6. If the masses aren’t both 5 grams, cut the pieces of gum down until they are the same mass in grams
  7. Begin experiment by having the designated gum chewer chew the sugar free gum for 2 minute
  8. After 2 minute, stop chewing and record the ending mass being sure to tare the scale with the wax paper on it before you place the gum on it.
  9. Put this gum back in the chewers mouth and chew for 2 more minutes (so that the total time the gum has been chewed is 4 minutes)
  10. After 4 minutes total, measure the ending mass and record
  11. Put this gum back in the chewers mouth and chew for 2 more minutes (so that the total time the gum has been chewed is 6 minutes)
  12. After 6 minutes total, measure the ending mass and record
  13. Repeat steps 7-11 with the Big Red (Sugar Gum)
  14. Analyze data and create graphs

Data Table:

Sugar Free Gum Mass Over Time
2 minutes / 4 minutes / 6 minutes
Trial 1 / Grams / Grams / Grams
Trial 2 / Grams / Grams / Grams
Trial 3 / Grams / Grams / Grams
Average / Grams / Grams / Grams
Sugar Gum Mass Over Time
2 minutes / 4 minutes / 6 minutes
Trial 1 / Grams / Grams / Grams
Trial 2 / Grams / Grams / Grams
Trial 3 / Grams / Grams / Grams
Average / Grams / Grams / Grams

Graph:

Analysis:

According to our data, the mass of both sugar-free and sugared gum decreases over time, but the mass of the gum with the sugar decreases much more quickly than the type with sugar. On average the mass of the sugar free gum went from 5 grams starting mass to 4.8 gram after 2 minutes, 4.43 grams after 4 minutes, and 3.76 grams after 6 minutes. This is a total loss of 1.24 grams. The sugar gum, on the other hand, also started at 5 grams but decreased to 4.37 grams after 2 minutes, 4.03 grams after 4 minutes, and 3.33 grams after 6 minutes, which is an overall loss 1.67 grams. This shows me that the sugar gum is breaking down at a quicker rate than that with the sugar substitute (sugar-free); this is probably because sugar is a carbohydrate and amylase actively breaks it down, whereas it doesn’t effectively break down the sugar substitute as quickly.

Conclusion:

The question we were trying to answer is: Will different types of gum break down differently over time due to oral digestion? I hypothesized that if we chew gum with and without sugar, then the gum without sugar will have more mass over time, because it doesn’t contain sugar which is broken down by amylase. Some things that might have contributed to errors in this lab were accurate timing, and forgetting to zero the scale. Each of these things could have caused the data to be skewed. If I were to do this lab again, I think it would be important to also test the elasticity between the two different types of gum. Doing this additional lab would only further validate my results.