In this physical science lab, students investigate whether or not chewing gum should be considered eating. Students plan their own experiments for this lab. They use the law of conservation of mass to reason that the portion lost of the original mass of gum must be swallowed. Students determine the portion of original mass of gum. A student lab sheet and CER template are provided.

Science Instructional Plans (SIPs) help teachers align instruction with the Science Standards of Learning (SOL) by providing examples of how the content and the scientific and engineering practices found in the SOL and curriculum framework can be presented to students in the classroom.

I use this lab after having students study the physical properties of matter. In this lab, students will identify physical properties of the different types of matter in the mixture and they will plan a procedure for separating their mixture. They will then carry out the procedure and measure the percent recovery for each of the components of their mixtures.

This is an open inquiry lab that can be done in approximately 15-20 minutes with a few household materials. It dramatically, yet simply, illustrates the condition of color change and the formation of gas (bubbles) as a result of a chemical change. Updates have added safety information and a student data table.