Did you know…

Prehistoric man chewed on a lump of tree resin!

Suggested Activity: Chewing Gum Experiment

To do the following experiment, you will need:

1 package of each: 3 different brands of ordinary chewing gum (not bubble gum), stopwatch or a timer, paper and pencil
Optional: Recording device or camera

Experiment Question:  Does your gum offer longest lasting flavor?

You will need one piece of each type of gum, a stopwatch or timer, and paper and pencil for this experiment.

– Take one piece of each type of gum, write down the name of the gum and the time you started chewing it or start your stop watch.

– When your gum loses its flavor, write down the time or stop your stopwatch and write down that time.

Do this for all 3 brands of gum and compare the results.

Note: This experiment can be done in one day or over several days.

Here are some optional questions you can answer:

– Have you ever had this brand of gum before?
– What flavor is the gum?
– Do you like the flavor of the gum?
– What are you expecting to happen during this experiment?
– How did the gum taste in the beginning, in the middle and at the end?
– How did the flavor and consistency of the gum change during the experiment?
– What did the gum feel like when you first started chewing and how did the gum feel at the end of your experiment?
– What happened when the gum lost its flavor?  
– What sensations did your mouth feel when you started chewing and how did your mouth feel when the experiment ended?
– If your gum promised long lasting flavor, decide if it lived up to its promise.
– Write a review or talk about your experience: How much did you pay for each brand of gum? Was it worth what you paid for it? Would you buy it gain?  Would you recommend the gum to anyone else?
– Try this experiment with a friend, parent or sibling and compare and talk about your results.

Recoding your results…

Recording Suggestion 1: Write about your experience.

Write about each step and answer the questions above if you choose to.

Recording Suggestion 2: Record your experiment on an audio or video device.

Start the recording device, show or talk about the brand, show or say the time, talk a little bit about the gum you are about to experiment on. Answer the questions above if you choose to.

Recording Suggestion 3: Illustrate your experiment.

Draw each part of your experiment and write a brief description next to each drawing or take pictures of each step of your experiment, print or develop your pictures and write captions under each picture telling what happened.
Make or draw faces showing your feelings for the questions if you choose to do them.

Recording Suggestion 4: Dictate or talk to someone else about this experiment.

Ask someone else to write your answers for this experiment for you or talk about the results with another person.

Just for the fun of it, make an interview out of this experiment, or create a commercial or ad for the brand of gum you liked the best using the questions above.

Question of the day:

Who was Thomas Adams and what gum did he invent?

Learn more:

Chewing Gum Facts