By Golly By Gum

1. By Golly By Gum A Sweet Lesson on Inquiry Akimel A-al Middle School 6th Grade Science

2. Do you know why bubble gum is pink? The color of the first successful bubble gum was pink because it was the only color the inventor had left. The color �stuck" and today bubble gum is still mostly pink.

3. Bubble Gum Facts: During WW1, US military personnel spread the popularity of chewing gum by trading it and giving it as gifts to people in Europe, Africa, Asia and around the world. The first patent for chewing gum was issued in 1869 to William F. Semple, a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio. The largest bubble ever blown was 23 inches in diameter. The record was set on July 19, 1994 by Susan Montgomery Willams of Fresno California. Ancient Greeks chewed a gum like substance called mastic. Women especially liked gum because it cleaned their teeth and it exercised their jaw muscles. The longest gum wrapper chain on record was 7,400 feet in length and was made by Cathy Ushler of Redmond, WA between 1969-1992.

4. How Bubble Gum is Made. The gum's ingredients are melted and filtered. Powered sugar, glucose syrup, flavoring and the other ingredients are slowly added to the gum base until the warm mix thickness like dough. Machines called extruders are used to blend, smooth, and form the gum. It's time for gum to be shaped. Gum can be flattened and cut into sticks, or squeezed into a rope shape and cut into chunks, or molded into shapes, and candy coated. After the gum is cut or molded into the appropriate shape, it's lightly sprinkled with powdered sweetener to keep it from sticking to machinery. In carefully temperature controlled room, the gum is cooled for up to 48 hours. This allows the gum to properly set. If the gum is candy coated, like most gum balls or pellet gum, it's sprayed again. This process is repeated several times until the candy shell reaches the proper thickness.

5. Research Questions vs. Testable Questions. Research questions: can be answered by looking them up. How many calories are in a stick of gum? How much fat is in a stick of gum? What is the most expensive gum? Testable questions: can be answered by performing an experiment Which flavor of gum lasts the longest? Which brand of gum makes the biggest bubbles?

6. Our Big Question What happens to the mass of gum after it is chewed for 10 minutes? Mass = The amount of matter an object has. the weight of an object includes the force of gravity on that object (If we traveled to the moon, we would have the same mass but we would less on the moon than here on Earth because there is less gravity). For our lab, we will measure mass by the weight of the object in grams (g)

7. Triple-Beam Balance We often use a triple-beam balance to measure mass. With the pan empty, move the three sliders on the three beams to their leftmost positions, so that the balance reads zero. If the indicator on the far right is not aligned with the fixed mark, then calibrate the balance by turning the set screw on the left under the pan. Once the balance has been calibrated, place the object to be measured on the pan. Move the 100 gram slider along the beam to the right until the indicator drops below the fixed mark. The notched position immediately to the left of this point indicates the number of hundreds of grams. Now move the 10 gram slider along the beam to the right until the indicator drops below the fixed mark. The notched position immediately to the left of this point indicates the number of tens of grams. The beam in front is not notched; the slider can move anywhere along the beam. The boldface numbers on this beam are grams and the tick marks between the boldface numbers indicate tenths of grams. To find the mass of the object on the pan, simple add the numbers from the three beams. As with a ruler, it is possible to read the front scale to the nearest half tick mark.

8. What is the mass showing?

9. Formulate your Hypothesis Hypothesis: what you think will happen & why I think the mass will Stay the same because.. Increase because� Decrease because�

10. Plan for Testing the Hypothesis Weigh the gum Place the wax paper on the scale Place the un-chewed gum on the scale Find and record the weight in grams (g) Chew the gum for 10 minutes No talking Weigh the gum again Place the gum on back on the wax paper Find and record the weight in grams (g)

11. Results Mass of gum before chewing: ______g Mass of gum after chewing: _________g Conclusion: �My hypothesis was supported because � or �My hypothesis was not supported because �