Osmosis Experiments With Gummy Bears

Osmosis Experiments With Gummy Bears
••• pxhidalgo/iStock/Getty Images

Gummy bears offers kids a way to get interested in and understand osmosis – something about the brightly colored, tasty candy captivates young students. In osmosis experiments with gummy bears, the bears swell up to several times their normal size, which can be quite amusing and unexpected for kids and adults alike. Teachers like gummy bear osmosis experiments because they are simple, entertaining and easy to explain and understand.

Osmosis Terms

Understanding key terms is crucial to learn what happens during gummy bear osmosis experiments. Osmosis occurs when liquids flow through a semi-permeable membrane from a diluted to a concentrated environment. Semi-permeable membranes allow some molecules to pass through them – most frequently liquids – but not others. Scientists explain this by using the terms hypertonic and hypotonic: hypertonic solutions have higher concentrations of solutes – solids dissolved in liquids – while hypotonic ones have a comparatively lower concentration. Diffusion is the active movement of a substance from hypertonic to hypotonic, until an isotonic solution – equal concentration – is reached.

Gummy Bear Composition

Made from gelatin, water and a sweetener like sugar or corn syrup, gummy bears start as a liquid and cool into a chewy, gummy solution. The chewiness of gummy bears is due to the presence of gelatin, whose molecules are chain-like and create a solid matrix.

Gummy Bear Experiment: Tap Water

The first experiment involves soaking your gummy bears overnight in plain water. Prior to soaking, have your students measure the height, width, and depth of the gummy bear, and record this information in their lab books. Place the gummy bears in cups of water – one per student – and set aside. Then discuss hypotheses – what do the students think will happen to the bears? The next day, the bears will have expanded, as water moved by diffusion through the bear's semi-permeable membrane to reach an isotonic state where the concentration of water molecules inside and outside the bear were the same. The students should measure the bears again and use their before-and-after data to calculate the percentage of growth.

Gummy Bear Experiment: Salt Water I

Conduct the same experiment, this time soaking new gummy bears in salt water. Again ask your students to predict the outcome: Will the addition of salt change the outcome of the experiment in any way? Your students may be surprised at the results. New gummy bears soaked in salt water will shrink, but imperceptibly so. The bears' gelatin construction will cause it to hold its shape and size, for the most part, even when water leaves the bear.

Gummy Bear Experiment: Salt Water II

Soak the original, water-expanded gummy bears from your first experiment in salt water, and ask your students to predict the outcome. The bears will shrink as osmosis causes water to leave the gummy bear.

Related Articles

Gummy Bear Science Experiments
How to Make an Egg Float Using Salt for a Science Project
Osmosis Science Activities for Kids
Egg Flotation Science Project Procedures
Osmosis Egg Experiments
Second-Grade Science Lessons Using Salt
Why Does an Egg Shrink in Different Solutions?
Science Projects and Research With Salt, Sugar, Water...
Gummy Bear Science Experiments
Science Projects for 7 Year Olds
Science Project Egg Experiments
How to Make an Experiment With Corn Syrup
Science Project on How to Float an Egg
Chemistry Projects for Diffusion in Liquids
Density Experiments for Elementary
Density Experiments for Kids
Experiments With Salt Melting Ice
How to Write a Protocol for Biology Experiments
Rock Candy Science Project
How to Measure Heat of Fusion of Ice

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!