What's poppin'? Bubble Gum Challenge

Today I researched and planned out my Bishop Dunn Science fair project; "What's Poppin'? Bubble Gum Challenge". For my project I will complete an experiment in hopes to find out which gum allows us to blow the biggest bubble. I will be experimenting with 5 different brands of gum. The brands I will be using are Trident, Juicy Fruit, 5 gum, Dubble Bubble, and Extra. My experimental group will consist of participants aged 5 years old-10 years old. The participants will help me test the different brands of gum by blowing three bubbles for each brand of gum. The brand they are chewing will be unknown to avoid any basis. The children are extremely excited to take part in this fun experiment. I hope everyone enjoys this project as much as they do.

"What's Poppin'?" Bubble Gum Challenge:

Problem:

Which gum blows the biggest bubble (Trident, Juicy Fruit, 5, Dubble Bubble, or Extra)?

Hypothesis:

I think Dubble Bubble will blow the biggest bubble.

I think this because after doing research, Dubble Bubble was created for a fun bubble blowing experience. The “non-sticky” formula was made to allow kids to blow bubbles with ease.

The other gum bands were created for different reasons. Trident was created in effort to reduce the link between gum chewing and tooth decay. Trident uses three enzymes in their formula to promote dental health. Juicy Fruit gum is known for it's one of a kind flavor. It was also created for a fun bubble blowing experience. In my opinion, Juicy fruit will be one of the top contenders in this experiment. 5 gum was created to appeal to our senses. It was designed to be eye-catching, stimulate our taste buds, have a captivating smell, and a soft, chewy texture that will be craved. The brand Extra, was created with the purpose of developing a long lasting flavor experience.

Materials: 
-One pack of Trident gum

-One pack of Juicy Fruit gum

-One pack of 5 gum

-One pack of Dubble Bubble gum

-One pack of Extra gum

-A ruler (in inches)

-A camera (for photos and videos)

-A group of participants (testing group)

-Paper and pen to record data
-A timer 

Procedure:

1. I will first remove the individual pieces of gum from their wrappers. This way the participants are not basis during testing. The participants will not be aware of the brand of gum they are chewing and blowing bubbles with. The participants will all be in the same room. This will allow for the same environment. Therefor factors, such as room temperature, and possible distractions, will be the same for each participate and each brand of gum.

2. I will give the participant 1 minute to chew the selected brand of gum before they begin to blow a bubble. If each brand of gum is chewed for the same amount of time, there is a higher chance of the brands solely being judged on the potential bubble size and not other components, such as length of time chewing. The amount of time gum is chewed can impact the size of the bubble blown, as well as other factors. For example, the bubble blowing skill level of the participant, the amount of gum being used by the participant, and the temperature of the gum. Most of these factors can be controlled in a science experiment. The factors that can not be controlled will be discussed in the experimental error part of my conclusion. It is possible that these factors can skew my data a little.
 

3. Following the one minute, I will have the participant blow a bubble to the best of their ability. As they are blowing the bubble, a ruler will be held up to their mouth. Once the bubble reaches it's maximum size, the length will be recorded. In addition, I will video tape the act in case of any misjudgment in the length. The participant will blow 3 bubbles per gum brand and the average will be used in the final data processes. The same participants will be used throughout the entire experiment.

4. The length of the bubble will be recorded for each of the three bubbles, per participant, for each brand.

5. The average length of the bubble per brand will be calculated. In order to find this number, I will fist add up the 3 bubble blows for one participant and divide by 3. This will give me a single participants average bubble size for that particular brand. I will complete this process for each brand.  After completing this act for each individual participant, I will then add up all the participants averages for each brand, divide by the number of participants, and be left with the overall average bubble size for that particular brand of gum.

6. Lastly, I will review my findings and determine which brand of gum (Trident, Juicy Fruit, 5, Dubble Bubble, or Extra) blows the biggest bubble.

I love Science sodium much! Haha, I slapped my neon that one.

Today I experienced my first virtual class. I got to experience the flaws and advantages of technology. Although it is an extreme advancement in the world to have the ability to view and contribute to a class online, there can be downfalls. The virtual class gave the professor the ability to hold a normal class without us having to be in the class room. The professor held class at it's normal time and was able to speak to the class directly and in real time. In addition, she was able to display a slide show to go along with the lesson. The students, had the ability to participate either by voice or through text. This is a great advancement in technology, especially for educational purposes. The downfall to my evening, and technology as well, was that I lost power. What happens to our lives when the power goes off? Technology is unable to be used. Although technology leads to amazing advancements, tools, and discoveries, it is not dependable. That is one of my big concerns about the world becoming so dependent on items that are undependable and unpredictable. It's great to have the knowledge and ability to use such tools, but I believe schools should not focus on them. I feel as though professors and teachers should not depend on them either. I want to my students to be able to depend only on themselves, their knowledge, and skills that will never go "out of style". Technology is meant to be a tool, not a lifestyle.

Think like a Proton & stay positive!

Today was the start of field work at Bishop Dunn elementary school. For the next few weeks classmates and myself will have the opportunity to host a lesson on a particular Science topic to a group of 3rd graders. On February 9th, The first group had their turn at teaching a lesson. Their lesson was concentrated on the properties of matter. Watching the group teach definitely made me more nervous about my turn next week. I did not feel comfortable judging my classmates so harshly. Who am I to judge them? In addition, I felt uncomfortable for them as they were put on the spot at the end of class being bashed by the instructor. No, their lesson wasn't perfect, but it shouldn't be. We are here to learn and build ourselves up. On the contrary, I feel all get is negative energy and put down so far in this course. I even considered dropping out of the program after the first week of this semester. In addition, I don't feel like it's fare to judge people that don't have a full grasp of the subject area. I have taking many Science classes for many years. The biggest mistakes group 1 made was in relation to the information. They didn't not fully understand the topic therefore, some of their information wasn't clear and accurate. Especially in the subject of Science, terms and proper use of those terms are extremely important. I distinctly remember a slide speaking about solutions and the combination and solutions. Matter is EVERYTHING. Solutions are only one very specific thing. In addition, I strongly believe that it is OK to not know everything as long as you admit it. A student made a comment about compounds. The students teachers response was "good observation". Unfortunately that student's comment was an incorrect statement. Now the child thinks he was correct which is detrimental to his learning. If I do not know that answer to a question, my response is "that's a great question, after class we will have to look it up". It's better a child receives the correct answer than a false or incorrect one. Also, since they had four stations, I wish each station was based on a different type of matter. They were all about liquids. Lastly, I didn't understand why their was a density station when density was not spoken about. Overall, it was a good lesson, it was just confusing at many times, straight answers weren't given ever, and false statements were made at times. Practice makes perfect!

The glass is never half empty, it's always full with air. Think like a scientisit!

Today we met Mrs. F. We will be fulfilling our field work class requirements with her support and guidance.  She excitedly created an after school Science program for students in 3rd and 4th grade in order to enrich their minds and support our learning as future Science teachers. Mrs. F shared her love and passion for teaching, especially as a Science teacher. The class was introduced to her policy of "hand and mind" learning instead of "paper and pen" learning. She strongly expressed that students learn better when they are active participates. I am a firm believer in active learning also. I was curious to learn more about her teaching methods after she told us this information. Young children can never sit still. Even if you get them to sit still, their mind is elsewhere. It takes a little more creativity from the teacher to plan activities that are fun and relate to the unit of study, but the outcome can be tremendous. A student has a higher chance of remembering the use of the parts of a cell when they get to act out the "mighty mitochondria", then if they just mindlessly copied notes of the board. I particularly liked how Mrs. F started off her lesson with game. It wasn't just any game though, it was a game she could use as a segue into a lesson on magnetic poles. I felt it was a great way to capture attention and keep it throughout the lesson. In addition, you could tell right off the bat that she has a strong passion for what she does. My group already emailed her and she has been very helpful in guiding us to created the perfect lesson. She is very excited to see it, as we are to instruct it.

"The name's Bond"... "Hydrogen Bond"

You might call me nerdy, but Science has always been my thing. I had my Barbie dolls and American girl dolls, but most of the time I chose to play with my "mad scientist kit", collect rocks, venture into the woods, or dig holes in my back yard and blame it on the dog. It was always more exciting to make my own little discoveries or create miniature experiments then play video games inside. In my own words, Science is the study of the structure, behavior, and make up of the world (living and non-living) through observation and experimentation. I believe Science is an extraordinarily important field. It definitely can be intimidating and overwhelming, but it's well worth the struggle. I hope to live to see the day Cancer can be cured, the discovery of another planet humans can inhabit, and transportation exceeding the efficiency of airplanes. All of these ideas can be possible through research, observation, experimentation, and the progression of Science.
School definitely enhanced my love for Science. Throughout the years, the Science teachers were always the "cool" teachers. Even in college, my most influential professors were my Science teachers. They are consistently passionate about their field. My science professors were also so eager to help when concepts became confusing. Not to mention, who wouldn't like a class in which you go on tons of outstanding field trips, and are allowed to use fire and potentially toxic chemicals? I, for one, could not turn these experiences down. After high school, I started my collegiate career off as a Biology major. I then went on to receive my associates degree in Science. After some time, the Math components needed to continue down my scientific path, lead me to change my major. It was very heartbreaking for me. One of my most exciting experiences as a Science student was having the opportunity to instruct a group of high school students in a Biology lab. At the time, I had never thought about teaching, but my professor thought I'd complete this nerve racking task well. The lab was to view how caffeine and alcohol impacts heart rate. Each pair of students were given a microscope, the organism; Daphnia to assemble on a slide, samples of caffeine and alcohol, as well as any other tools needed to complete the experiment. Daphnia is commonly known as a water flea. They are small plank-tonic crustaceans. Under a microscope, you are able to view the organisms heart pumping, as well as other internal features. This ability allows students to observe the change in heart beat while adding caffeine or alcohol. Fortunately, the lab was a great success. The students loved it, and suddenly teaching wasn't such a frightening idea.
Undeniably, it takes a passionate, patient, and reliable teacher to be a successful Science instructor. Along with studying Science comes numerous difficult to understand concepts, never-ending definitions, and significant lab rules and regulations.  In order to not get discouraged or frightened, a student has to feel like their teacher is on their side and not against them. It is easy to think your teacher is aiming for you to fail, especially when the subject itself is very challenging. In my experiences, my Science instructors made every student feel that they will be there to support their learning experience. After school assistance and tutors were always encouraged and very helpful. I always felt my instructors wanted to be their and wanted to help their students succeed. There was never a time I felt uncomfortable going to a Science teacher for support. In addition, they never made belittled me or made me feel dumb.
As a result of my teachers and my love for the subject, I strongly believe I have been successful in Science. The work load was always tremendous and the concepts difficult to understand, but I've always pushed forward with the help of my instructors. Although difficult at times, I have always gotten good grades in my Science classes. My only downfall was not achieving my bachelors degree in Biology. If I had a more fortunate experience with Math, I may have been able to reach my goal in gaining a Biology degree.
Overall, my experiences in Science have shaped into a person who is passionate about the environment, medical advancements, and new discoveries about the world around me. I think the subject is exciting and of high importance. I hope Science will always be a hobby of mine.  

"Celling" Science

Today was the first day of class. Dr. Simrnova engaged us in activities to introduce the class to each other, reflect upon science stereotypes, and to the steps of the scientific method. The first task was to get through the one activity every student hates, the self introductions. Each student was instructed to fold a piece of paper in a particular fashion and create a name tag "with love". Next, every student was encouraged to introduce themselves by stating their name and prior experience as a science student. Fortunately for me, my experiences have all been exciting and intriguing. Science is not an easily understood and it's not meant to be. The field is constantly growing, making new discoveries, making mistakes, and being challenged. When you have a problem, do you always find an easy, correct solution right away? If you do, you are very very lucky! Science is all about taking problems, questions, and the unknown and trying to find solutions, answers, and piece things together. A lot of trial, error, experimentation, fails, and life changing accomplishments are experienced in the field of science. This is what makes the subject so arousing and interesting. In order to create interest and excitement, Dr. Simrnova begin her lesson with an activity to engage the class in the Scientific Method. First, we were asked to look at a filled bag. Without a doubt we had our question; "what is in the bag?" Next, each student took a guess at what item/items could be in the bag. Hypothesis: check! Now to experiment. The bag was passed around to myself and my classmate to feel for 5 seconds. Suddenly we had a brand new list of possibilities. Everyone was eager to know what is in the bag, but we have to take all the steps of the scientific method in order to reach the answer.