The Great Gummy Snake Adventure!

A Sweet Dive into Science & Math for H

Materials You'll Need:

• One (or more, for comparisons!) lolly snake / gummy snake
• A clear cup or glass
• Tap water
• A ruler (with centimeters and millimeters)
• A notebook or our special "Scientist H's Observation Sheet" (template below)
• A pencil or pen
• Optional: A kitchen scale (to measure weight)
• Optional: A magnifying glass (for super-close observations!)
• Optional: A camera (to take before and after photos)

Let's Get Started, Scientist H! (Day 1)

Part 1: The Big Question & Your Prediction

Today, we're going on a scientific adventure with a gummy snake! We're going to see what happens when we give it a 24-hour spa day in a cup of water. What do you think will happen to the snake? Will it get bigger, smaller, change color, or maybe even disappear? This is your hypothesis – your smart guess based on what you already know!

Write down your prediction in your observation sheet.

Part 2: Measure Up! (Before the Plunge)

Before our snake takes its dive, we need to get some important measurements. This is where our math skills come in!

1. Length: Use your ruler to carefully measure your gummy snake from its nose to the tip of its tail. Record this in centimeters (cm) and millimeters (mm) on your observation sheet.
2. Width: Measure the snake at its thickest part. Record this too.
3. Appearance: Describe what your snake looks like. Is it shiny, dull, smooth, a bit bumpy? What are its colors like?
4. Weight (Optional): If you have a kitchen scale, carefully weigh your snake. Record its weight in grams (g).

Part 3: The Plunge!

Gently place your measured gummy snake into the clear cup. Now, pour in enough water to completely cover the snake. That's it for now! We need to wait 24 hours to see the big changes. You can set a reminder or make a note of the time.

Optional Check-ins: If you're super curious, you can make observations at different times (e.g., after 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours), but try not to disturb the snake too much. If you do an early check, you can measure it again, but be very gentle!

The Big Reveal! (Day 2 - After 24 Hours)

Part 4: Observation Time!

It's been 24 hours! Time to see what happened to our gummy snake. Carefully take the snake out of the water. It might be very delicate!

1. New Length: Measure its length again. Record it.
2. New Width: Measure its width again. Record it.
3. New Appearance: What does it look like now? Has the color changed? What about the texture? Is it squishy, firm, slimy? Describe everything you see and feel.
4. New Weight (Optional): If you weighed it before, weigh it again. Record the new weight.

Part 5: What Happened? Let's Analyze!

Now for the super fun part – figuring out what all this means! Look at your "before" and "after" measurements and observations.

• Did the snake get bigger or smaller? By how much? (This is where we can do some subtraction: New Length - Old Length = Change in Length).
• Did its weight change? By how much?
• Did its appearance change as you predicted? Or was it a surprise?
• Was your hypothesis correct? It's okay if it wasn't – that's what science is all about, learning new things!

Part 6: The Science Behind the Swell! (A Simple Explanation)

So, why did the gummy snake change? It's because of something called osmosis (OSS-MO-SIS)!

Gummy snakes are made of gelatin, sugar, and water. There's a lot more "stuff" (like sugar and gelatin molecules) packed inside the snake than in the plain water outside. Water likes to move from a place where there's a lot of it (like your cup of water) to a place where there's less of it (like inside the snake, which has lots of other things). So, the water molecules from the cup sneak into the gummy snake, trying to balance things out. This makes the snake swell up and get bigger and squishier!

Imagine a crowded room (the snake) next to an empty room (the water). If you open the door, people from the empty room might move into the crowded room to spread out. Water does something similar!

Scientist H's Observation Sheet (Example)

My Gummy Snake Experiment!

My Hypothesis (What I think will happen): _________________________

Date/Time Experiment Started: _________________________

BEFORE the water bath:

• Length: ____ cm ____ mm
• Width: ____ cm ____ mm
• Weight (optional): ____ g
• Appearance (color, texture, etc.): _________________________

Date/Time Experiment Ended (after 24 hours): _________________________

AFTER the water bath:

• Length: ____ cm ____ mm
• Width: ____ cm ____ mm
• Weight (optional): ____ g
• Appearance (color, texture, changes): _________________________

My Discoveries & Conclusions:

What was the change in length? _________

What was the change in width? _________

What was the change in weight? _________

Was my hypothesis correct? Why or why not? _________________________

What did I learn? _________________________

Activity Extensions (For More Fun!):

• Different Liquids: What happens if you put another gummy snake in saltwater? Or juice? Or vinegar? Predict first, then try it out!
• Different Candies: Do other gummy candies do the same thing? What about a hard candy?
• Graph It: If you made measurements at different times (e.g., 1 hr, 6 hr, 12 hr, 24 hr), you could make a simple line graph to show how the length changed over time!

Great job, Scientist H! You've successfully conducted an experiment, made observations, and learned about the amazing science of osmosis!