Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Bubble Gum Lab: The Scientific Method
Part I:
Problem: Do all brands of bubble gum make BIG bubbles? Are some better at making larger bubbles than others?
Hypothesis: Which piece of gum will blow the biggest bubble and WHY (make a prediction).
Procedure: Each group will need two pieces of gum (each a different brand). Fill in the table below by writing down
three observations about each brand of gum (include both qualitative and quantitative).
Observations:
Gum A
Qualitative
Gum B
/ Quantitative
Qualitative
/ Quantitative
1.___________________/___________________
1.___________________/___________________
2.___________________/___________________
2.___________________/___________________
3.___________________/___________________
3.___________________/___________________
**Qualitative = Can be observed but not measured
Quantitative = Can be MEASURED**
Procedure:
1. The person with brand A will chew their piece of gum for 3 minutes. The person with brand B does not begin chewing
until all the tests on brand A are completed.
2. Blow a bubble.
3. Using a string, your partner will measure the diameter (distance across) the bubble. Put the string on the meter stick to
measure the distance in centimeters (cm).
4. Record the measurement in data table 1. Repeat the process for trials 2 and 3.
5. Find the average bubble size for brand A (add all the distances up and divide by 3) and put in the data table 1.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 with the brand B gum.
7. Fill-in your averages on the white board and copy the class average below.
8. Graph the class average for brand A and B.
Results:
Data Table #1 (Lab Group data)
Trial
Number
1
2
3
AVG
Gum A
measurement
(cm)
Gum B
measurement
(cm)
Gum A
Class Average
Gum B
Class Average
Part II:
On a piece of graph paper, construct a line a graph. Graph the class averages for each trial of Gum A and Gum B. (You
will have two lines on your graph). Make sure to label each axis and give your graph a descriptive title.
Lab Analysis Questions
1.
Was there a difference in the bubble size between the two brands of gum?
YES
/
NO
2. Which brand of gum is the best at blowing big bubbles? _____________________Explain how you know this:
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What was the control in this investigation (what did you both do that was exactly the same)?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What was the independent variable in this investigation? ____________________________________________
5. Where is the independent variable plotted on a graph? ______________________________________________
6. What is the dependent variable in this investigation? ________________________________________________
7. Where is the dependent variable plotted on a graph? ________________________________________________
8. List 3 things that may affect or did affect the outcome of this experiment
a. __________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________
9. Thinking about your answers to number 8 above, how would you improve this lab? (Name some procedural
steps/controls/etc. that you would use to make this a more controlled lab)
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________