Mass That Sticks Right to You

List of Materials Needed:

  • 10-15 pieces of the following types of gum :
  • Chewing Gum (i.e. Wrigley’s DoubleMint)
  • Bubble Gum (i.e. Dubble Bubble or Bubblicious)
  • Sugarless Gum (i.e. Trident)
  • Note: each student will be given only one of the above listed gums
  • Nutritional information about the three gum selected above, specifically the total weight of each piece and the amount of sugar in each piece
  • 2-4 electronic balances (triple beam balances can be used, but electronic balances are recommended for use in this activity since they provide more precise measurements)
  • 1 piece of white poster board divided into squares with each students name
  • A small plastic cup (i.e. those used in hospitals for severing medication) for each student

Technology Component

  • Use of the electronic balance

EXAMPLE:

Super Sticky

Brand of gum: Bubble Gum

Mass of gum plus wrapper: 3.37 g

Mass of wrapper alone: -0.26 g

Mass of gum before chewing: 3.11 g

Mass of chewed gum (gum without sugar)

plus wrapper: 1.22 g

Mass of wrapper: -0.26 g

Mass of chewed gum (gum with sugar): 0.96 g

Mass of sugar in gum originally: 2.15 g

Percentage of original piece of gum

that was sugar: 2.15 g/3.11 g = 69%

Manufacturer's information

Mass of a piece of gum: 3 g

Mass of sugars in gum: 2 g

Percentage of gum that is sugar. 2 g/3 g = 67%

Name______

Gum That Sticks Right to You

In this activity, you will be finding conservation ofmass of sugar in chewing gum. What is the law of conservation of mass?? ______

______

Independent Variable:

Dependent Variable:

Question:

Hypothesis:

Control Variable:

Other variables held constant (at least 3):

Procedures (at least 3 steps):

1.

2.

3.

Data Table 1: Mass of Chewing Gum

Gum Chewing Trial / Mass of UNCHEWED gum in grams (g) / Mass of CHEWED gum in grams (g)
1
2
3
4
5

How did the taste of the gum that you were chewing change over time?

______

______

What does this suggest happens as you chew the gum?

______

______

Get the following information from the package of your particular type of chewing gum. Again use the last row if necessary.

Type of Gum / Mass of gum in grams (g) / Mass of sugar in gum in grams (g)
Chewing Gum
Bubble Gum
Sugarless Gum

Conclusion:

What are some possible reasons for a change in the mass of the gum AFTER you chewed it?

______

In looking at the data for sugarless gum, did you notice that the mass change? If there is no sugar in the gum why did the mass change?

______