Name: _______________________________________ Date: ____________
Gummy Bear Lab
Purpose: To investigate the movement of water by measuring the
change in size of a gummy bear.
Background: Gummy bears are made of gelatin and sugar. Diffusion is
the movement of materials from an area of high concentration to an area
of low concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water. We will be using gummy bears to
model osmosis and diffusion.
Materials: 2 gummy bears, 2 small Dixie cups, distilled water, salt ruler, scale, marker
Procedure (Day 1)
1. Gather your materials- put your names or initials on your cups. Label one cup #1 and the
other #2
2. Measure your bear (in cm) from top to bottom (length), from side to side (width), and from
front to back (height). Record these measurements in your data table.
3. Place a bear in each cup and fill the cups halfway to two-thirds full with pure water. Both
cups should have equal amounts water.
4. Place the cups in the designated area for 24 hours.
5. Calculate the bears’ volume (length x width x height). Be careful not to damage the bears.
Hypothesis # 1
Explain what you think will happen to the bears and WHY:
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Procedure (Day 2)
6. CAREFULLY scoop out your bears after 24 hours has passed using a spoon.
7. Gently place your bear on a paper towel.
8. Gently measure the length, width, and height and record in your data table.
9. Empty the water out of the cups and label the #1 cup “pure water” and the #2 cup
“salt water.”
10. Put at least 1 teaspoon of salt in cup #2. Then fill with water halfway to two-thirds full. Stir
gently. Fill cup #1 with pure water.
11. Return the bears to the cups and cover them with the appropriate type of water and return
them to the designated area for another 24 hours.
12. Calculate the volume of each bear for Day 1.
Vanessa Jason Biology Roots www.biology-roots.com
Hypothesis # 2
What do you think will happen to each bear and WHY?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.
Procedure (Day 3)
13. Gently scoop the bears out of the cups and place on paper towel.
14. Carefully measure each bear as best as you can.
15. Calculate the volume of each bear on Day 2.
DAY 1: BEFORE SOAKING IN WATER
Cup
Condition
Color
Length
(cm)
Width
(cm)
Height
(cm)
Volume
(cm3)
Cup #1
water
Cup #2
water
DAY 2: AFTER SOAKING IN WATER, BEFORE SOAKING IN SALT WATER
Cup
Condition Color
Length
Width
Height
Volume
(cm)
(cm)
(cm)
(cm3)
Cup #1
water
Cup #2
salt
DAY 3: AFTER SOAKING IN SALT WATER
Cup
Condition
Color
Length
(cm)
Width
(cm)
Cup #1
Water-water
Cup #2
Water-salt
Vanessa Jason Biology Roots www.biology-roots.com
Height
(cm)
Volume
(cm3)
Analysis- Percentage change in volume chart
Calculate the percent change in volume from Day 1 to Day 2 and from Day 2 to Day 3.
Day 1 to Day 2
Day 2 to Day 3
% change
Cup #1
water-water
Cup #2
water-salt
Conclusions
1. Compare your Hypothesis # 1 to the Day 2 results. Do you completely reject or accept your
hypothesis? Why or why not? (It’s OK if you were “kind of right” in a way- just explain how )
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
2.
Using what you know about osmosis, explain the Day 2 results:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________.
3. Compare your Hypothesis #2 to the Day 3 results. Do you reject or accept your
hypothesis? Why or why not?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________.
4. Using what you know about osmosis, explain the Day 3 results:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________.
Vanessa Jason Biology Roots www.biology-roots.com
5. What happened from Day 2 to Day 3 to the bear that stayed in water? What would
eventually happen if it were left in the water for a few more days?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________.
6. The gummy bear in cup #1 (water) was submerged into a _________________
environment because ___________________________________________________.
7. The gummy bear in cup #2 (salt water) was submerged into a ___________________
environment because __________________________________________________.
Graphing Create a bar graph to chart the volume of each gummy bear (water and salt
water) over 3 days. Give your graph a title and label the axes so that you are measuring the
volume over time (x axis= time in days).
Title: ____________________________________________
Vanessa Jason Biology Roots www.biology-roots.com