M & M Scientific Method

Materials: Observation 1; 1 cup of water, 2 cups of sugar, 1 glass jar, 1 wooden skewer, 1 plate and 2 clothespins. Observation 2; 1 cup of water, 3 cups of sugar, 1 glass jar, 1 wooden skewer, 1 plate, 5 drops of red food coloring, and one plate.

Statistical analysis was performed with results as follows: the mean, or average number of candies per bag, was 55.648. The standard deviation, a measure of variance, was 2.8689. This means that the number of candies per bag can vary up to three candies. A histogram, a graph showing how the frequency of the data was distributed, was done to determine the characteristics of the data. The histogram appeared to be skewed to the left (negatively skewed). This means the data was not uniform.

The purpose of this experiment was to test multiple brands of popcorn under the same setting in order to conclude which one statistically popped the most kernels. I tested the butter flavor of Orville Redenbacher, Wal-mart’s Great Value brand, and Pop Weavers. The different bags of popcorn were popped in the same microwave for the same amount of time, 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Then, the popped corn was counted, as well as the un-popped kernels, in order to determine a ratio, and then I recorded the results in the data table. I repeated these steps two more times for a total of 3 trails for each brand. Then I compared the ratios of all the bags to determine which brand yielded the most popped corn. The statistical technique used to evaluate the data was to find a ratio between the number of kernels in the bottom of the bowl and the number of popped kernels. To find this, I divided the number of the actual popped corns by the total number of kernels left in the bottom of the bowl. The ratios and percent were then compared. Once all my results were in the data table, I averaged the 3 trials for each brand of popcorn.

1) The materials: cup, gummy bear, triple beam balance, water, metric ruler, and pencil were utilized for the experiment.

The development of the scientific method in the late 1500’s to the early 1600’s was a crucial stepping-stone in the science community. The scientific method is based upon observations, hypotheses and experimentation. The concept is rather simple, and can be applied to many areas of study. Once an observation is made, the observer can make a hypothesis as to why that phenomenon occurs and can then design an experiment to prove whether or not that hypotheses is valid. Although the scientific method has been extremely useful in the discovery of various things from usages of medications to studying animal behavior, there are still those who question the usage of this tool. These critics claim that since

Skittles are a hard shelled, fruit flavored candy loved by many today. Skittles first came into existence in Britain in 1974. They were introduced to the United States in 1979 but weren’t actually produced until 1982 where they are now a product of Wrigley. The Skittles catchphrase, “Taste the Rainbow” was came about in 1994. The Skittles Company has a variety of flavors from Sour Skittles, released in 2000; Bubble Gum Skittles, released in 2004; and Smoothie Fruit Mix, released in 2005. The Original Skittles consist of a strawberry flavor, an orange flavor, a lemon flavor, a green apple flavor, and a grape flavor. According to Wrigley, Skittles colors/flavors are all evenly distributed in each of their packs. So our question in hand was, is this claim actually true and if so, is the ratio of flavors in the regular sized (2.17 oz.) Skittles packs the same as the Fun Sized packs of Skittles? We chose do experiment with this because collectively as a group, we all love Skittles and from our understanding we initially assumed prior to conducting the experiment that Skittles had an equal number of flavors in each pack. There are five flavors in a pack, so that means that each pack should have 20% of each flavor. We decided that our null hypothesis would be H0:

This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.

Relevant Websites to Help You with This Lab – Be sure to review these Websites before and during the completion of this Lab.

This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.

Sr., son of the founder of the Mars Company Frank C. Mars, invented the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surround the inside, preventing the candies from melting.” “Production began in 1941 in a factory located in Newark, Nj where M&M’s chocolate were sold to the public packaged in cardboard tubes” (Bellis). On the other hand, Skittles started off from a family who experimented in making candy.”Frank C Mars and his wife Ethel started the Mars Company back in 1911. Well, before this time, Frank was making candy with his mom as a young boy. Later, he and his wife Ethel began producing candy in their own kitchen.” “Skittles were first sold in Europe starting around 1874. In 1979, Skittles first started to be imported for sale in the United States” (Milton). Already differing in location, M&M’s originated in the United States and Skittles originated in Europe. When M&M’s were first made from an idea that the soldiers to use to have chocolate without being melted. Shortly after M&M’s were invented they became a hit and appealed to an extensive amount of people. When Skittles were first invented it was somewhat passed through Frank’s family since he had been making the candy with his mother since he was a boy and carried it on to he and his wife. The candy then grew popular and

Lab Manual    Introductory Biology (Version 1.4)    © 2010 eScience Labs, LLC  All rights reserved  www.esciencelabs.com • 888.375.5487    2  Table of Contents:    Introduction:          Lab 1:   The Scientific Method  Lab 2:   Writing a Lab Report  Lab 3:  Data Measurement  Lab 4:  Introduction to the Microscope    Biological Processes:            Lab 5:   The Chemistry of Life 

1. Lab reports are to be computer-generated and double-spaced. All sections of the report must

In order to obtain a random sample, three bags of M&Ms were purchased from different locations. Each bag of M&Ms was a 1.69oz bag that was the standard plain version of the candy. The M&Ms were then sorted by color and this data was collected and compiled. These results were also added to a larger sample

M&M’s biggest competitor is Hershey’s brand like M&M candies. The competition is fierce among the chocolate industry. Hershey and Mars are rivals and want the opportunity to gain more of the market share. In 1954, Hershey-ettes were introduced to compete against the similar M&M’s. However, they were not successful and are generally only available for consumers around the Holiday season. By the millennium, Hershey extended the popular Hershey Kisses brand in creating the Kissables. Hershey intended for direct competition to M&M small candy coated round tablet of chocolate in multitude of colors. The candy factories started in standard size packs and by the 70’s moved into standard size candy boxes. In the current year and season, you will find M&M’s in candy canes to small snack sizes and inside ornamental objects. The chocolate world becomes difficult to present as it becomes difficult to come up with new ideas in the candy business. As more companies release products similar to the M&M’s, it will become increasingly difficult for Mars to continue to command the level of market share in the chocolate candy industry and the product has a potential to get lost in the supermarket aisle.

* Lower than planned usage of ingredients (510 liters lower) for ice-cream and 21 liters for specialties (Other ingredients were in 100 grams, which was converted to liters for the calculation of total ingredients)