Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to find the percent composition of sugar in gum, and how it differs based on the brand of gum, by using the percent by mass. Hypothesis: If two separate brands of gum are masticated, in which is based on Trident and Orbit Gum, then the mass of the sugar/the percent composition of the sugar in the gum would be the same, because the amount of sugar and sugar alcohol used in the gum are the same, based on the nutritional facts provided. Variables: Independent Variable: The Brand of Gum Dependent Variable: Percent of Composition of Sugar in Gum / Mass of Sugar (in g) Controlled Variables: The Amount Sticks of Gum, The Flavor of the Gum, Materials: ~ Trident Gum (2) ~ Wrapper of Gum ~ Calculator ~ Orbit Gum (2) ~ Weighing Scale / Balance Procedure: 1) Gather Materials 2) Weigh and record the mass of the gum in the wrapper 3) Remove the gum from the wrapper, and weigh/record the mass of the wrapper alone - Subtract to find mass of gum itself 4) Have 2 sets of 2 people masticate the gum. Each set of people should receive a different brand 5) Chew until the gum “loses” its flavor - approximately 5 minutes. All people should remove the piece of gum at same time 6) Attempt to …show more content…
The experiment conveys how the percent compositions of the sugar in the brand sticks of gum were different, even though the nutritional facts portrayed that the sugar content should have been the same. Based on the data, it is determined that Trident has a lower composition of sugar in the gum, in relation to Orbit. This is shown, as after 5 minutes of chewing the gum, the total mass of Trident dropped by .94 grams whereas the mass of Orbit gum dropped by 1.18 grams. The percent sugar composition in the Trident gum was 50% whereas Orbit had a sugar composition of