Gummy Bears!

We began class with a jump in on lab equipment and the differences between qualitative and quantitative observations. We discussed last night's Mission Impossible homework and how you can use everyday objects to measure stuff when there are not rulers around. We compared the random objects and learned that people who ended up with plastic animals like giraffes and dinosaurs were pretty attached to them.

Today we discussed proper lab write-ups and started a new lab with Gummy Bears. The students measured and weighed the gummy bears to find mass, volume, and density. Then the gummy bears were put in a cup full of water for one hour to see what would happen. Students hypothesized that the bears would shrink, float, sink, dissolve, the color would leak out, or the bears would get squishier.

In the hour interim, students practiced identifying significant digits and reacquainted themselves with scientific notation. We also discussed homework and homework notebooks.

After the hour, the bears were retrieved with difficulty for more measurements. There was a lot of complaining about not being able to grasp the bears because they were now much more slippery and slimy. Most of the bears did swell in size and become less dense... except for Eric and Jasmynne... they used hot water and their bears shrunk because they dissolved.

There's one more set of gummy bears hanging out in water til tomorrow. What do you think will happen to the bears overnight?