Activity Overview
Students will conduct an experiment where they determine how much various quantities of bubble gum affect the length of a rubber band.
Before the Activity
Students should be familiar with graphing points on the coordinate plane as well as finding a line of best fit.
During the Activity
Students will use the materials: individually wrapped bubble gum, paper cup, paper clip, and metric ruler to create an experiment which answers the question "How much does bubble gum stretch a rubber band?" The teacher may want to direct students to page 1.9 of the .tns file which shows an example of how to set up the experiment, or have students come up with various methods for having the bubble gum change the length of the rubber band. (There are messy ways and non-messy ways to set up this experiment, so teachers may also want to have some hand sanitizer available as well.) Students collect data for at least 8 trials, then graph and find a line of best-fit using a quick graph, as well as find a linear regression on the handheld. Students also answer an application problem as well.
After the Activity
Engage in class discussion to monitor student understanding. Reteach concepts as necessary.