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LAB in Solubility, Reaction Rate, Solute & Solvent, Physical Change. Last updated June 28, 2018.

Summary

In this lab, students will investigate dissolving using M&M’s and saliva, teeth, and tongue variables. They will determine whether dissolving happens faster without assistance, or with the assistance of the tongue and teeth.

Grade Level

Elementary school

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to

  • understand solutions.
  • determine what causes a solution to dissolve faster.
  • indentify solutes and solvents.

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

  • Solutions
  • Solubility

Time

Teacher Preparation:

Lesson: 30–40 minutes

Materials

For each group:

  • 3 plain M&M’s for each student
  • Timer

Safety

  • Student food allergies should be noted ahead of time, since food products are used in the experiment.
  • Food should never be consumed in a lab setting. This experiment should not take place in a lab or in an area close to chemicals.
  • Safety goggles should always be worn when working in a lab setting.

Teacher Notes

  • M&M’s can be substituted with another candy-coated treat if there are food allergies.

For the Student

Lesson

Purpose

You will create a solution and predict what method dissolves a piece of candy the fastest. You will also determine the solute and solvent in your trials as well as several solution examples.

Materials

  • 3 M&M’s
  • a timer

Safety

Please be sure you remind your teacher of any food allergies.

Hypothesis

Read the procedure. What do you think will happen?

Procedure

  1. Collect your materials. You and your partner will take turns dissolving M&M’s in your mouth while recording the time it takes for each trial.
  2. Trial 1-Place one piece of candy in your mouth and allow it to dissolve without using your tongue or teeth to help. Record the time (in seconds) it takes for the candy shell to dissolve.
  3. Trial 2- Place another piece of candy in your mouth and allow it to dissolve using only your tongue to move it around. Record the time (in seconds) it takes for the candy shell to dissolve.
  4. Trail 3- Place another piece of candy in your mouth and allow it to dissolve using your tongue and teeth. Record the time (in seconds) it takes for the candy shell to dissolve.

Results

Trial Dissolving Time
1
2
3

Analysis

  1. Define solute and solvent
  2. What were the solute and the solvent in this experiment?

    Solute= _______________ Solvent= _____________
  3. What do your results tell you about the time it took to dissolve the candy?
  4. Explain your results. Why did this happen?
  5. Determine the solute and the solvent in the following examples:

Solute Solvent
Ocean water = salt and water
Kool-Aid = powder, sugar, and water
Antifreeze = water and ethylene glycol
Lemonade = water, lemon juice, and sugar
  1. What liquid is called the “universal solvent”?

Conclusion

What did you learn from this activity about solutions?