expanding gummy bears science experiment

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Gummy Bear Science Experiment: DIY Science Project Ideas for Kids

Gummy bears sure are yummy, but they are tiny. What if you could grow a huge gummy bear? Do you think that’s possible? Will the large gummy bear be as yummy as the regular one? Perform the gummy bear science experiment with your little ones to find out. Science experiments for kids are a great way to help children understand difficult science lessons, like the concept of osmosis. 

Step-by-Step Instructions on Gummy Bear Science Experiment

Here is a step-by-step guide to performing the growing gummy bear science experiment at home.

What You’ll Need?

The growing gummy bear experiment is not only fun but inexpensive too. All you need are:

• 3 gummy bears, one red, one green and one yellow (you can use any color of your choice)
• 3 glasses filled with water
• ¼ cup of sugar
• ¼ cup of salt
• Pen and paper

How to Perform Gummy Bear Science Experiment?

Setting up the expanding gummy bear experiment is very easy. Follow these instructions to perform the experiment:

• Place the 3 glasses of water on your work surface. Ensure that the level of water in all 3 glasses is the same.
• Add ¼ cup of sugar into the 1st glass of water. Stir with the spoon until it’s completely dissolved.
• Now add ¼ cup of salt to the 2nd glass of water and stir till it is completely dissolved.
• Using the ruler, measure the height, length and width of each of the gummy bears and write it on the paper.
• Now, measure the weight of each gummy bear using the scale and note it down.
• Now, add the red gummy bear into the glass with sugar and the green gummy bear into the glass with salt. Finally, add the yellow gummy bear into the glass with plain water. 
• Note down the time and allow the gummy bears to sit undisturbed in their water bath for 12 hours.
• After 12 hours, check the gummy bears. Take them out of the water and measure and weigh them.

What You’ll See?

After 12 hours, you’ll see something magical in the 3 glasses. 

• You’ll notice that the yellow gummy bear, which we put in the plain water, has expanded and grown into a big gummy bear.
• The green gummy bear, which was in the salt solution, has barely grown. 
• The red gummy bear, which was in the sugar solution, has shrunk.

Science Behind Gummy Bear Experiment

So, why did the 3 gummy bears behave differently? Let’s find out by learning the science behind the expanding and shrinking gummy bears.

• Why did the gummy bear in plain water become bigger?

When the gummy bear is added to the plain water, it expands because of a process called Osmosis.

Gummy bears are made of gelatin, sugar, and flavoring, which are dissolved in warm water. A bit of the water leaves the solution as it cools leaving a firm but chewy candy bear. When you add the gummy bear into the water, the water moves into the gummy bear to balance the amount of water and sugar. With more and more water moving into the gummy bear, it expands and grows bigger.

• Why did the gummy bears in the sugar solution shrink?

In the glass with the sugar solution, the concentration of sugar is greater than the amount of sugar in the gummy bear. So, the water in the gummy bear moves out to balance the concentration of sugar, which makes the gummy bear shrink.

• Why did the gummy bear in the salt solution not grow much?

Salt molecules are much smaller than gelatin. So, the concentration of salt in the salt solution is greater than the salt content in the gummy bear. As a result, the water in the gummy bear moves into the salt solution to balance out the concentration of salt. This is why the gummy bear in the salt solution doesn’t grow much.

• What is Osmosis?

Osmosis is the process where water molecules or any solvent moves from an area with a lower concentration of solute to an area with a higher concentration of solute to balance the 2 solutions.

Other Way to Perform Gummy Bear Science Experiment

Now that we know how gummy bears behave in water, sugar, and salt, let’s see how they behave with other solutions. Let’s perform the gummy bear science experiment with liquids other than water.=

Here is what you need to perform this experiment:

• Gummy bears

How to Perform Gummy Bear Science Experiment for Kids?

Check out stepwise instructions on gummy bear science experiment for kids below.

• Place the vinegar, milk and olive oil in 3 different bowls.
• Now, measure the height, length, width and weight of each of the gummy bears. Note the measurements down.
• Then, place 1 gummy bear in each of the 3 bowls. Note the time.
• After 12 hours, check the gummy bears. Note down the changes in each of the gummy bears. 
• Ask the children to check how the gummy bears behaved differently in each of the liquids.

Check Osmo for more experiments, activities, games, and worksheets to aid in your kids learning .

Frequently Asked Questions on Gummy Bear Science Experiment

Why should you do the growing gummy bears science experiment.

The gummy bear science experiment is a wonderful way to help little children understand the concept of osmosis.

What do you need for the expanding gummy bears experiment?

The gummy bear in the water science experiment is very simple and needs very few things. All you need are 3 glasses of water, gummy bears, sugar, salt, scale, ruler, pen, and paper.

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Gummy Bear Experiment

Osmosis can be a difficult concept for kids to understand. I’ve always found that visual explanations really hit home with kids and help them to understand. Today we have a growing gummy bear experiment that is a perfect compliment to our Gummy Mummy experiment that explores the science of desiccation and diffusion. Because gummy bears are made of gelatin they will not dissolve in water like other candy will. They will however absorb liquids and change in shape and size. We’ve set up an experiment with four different liquids to see the difference in how the gummy bears are able to absorb each and how they change over the course of the day.

Great Growing Gummies – Gummy Bear Osmosis Experiment

What you will discover in this article!

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What is Osmosis?

Scientifically, Osmosis is when solvent molecules (usually water) cross a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration. This creates equilibrium between the solute and solvent, balancing the concentration of solutes on both sides of the membrane. Osmosis is a passive process in that it requires no energy from the cell to occur.

Now – that’s a lot of big words and concepts so let’s break down that vocabulary:

Solvent : substance able to dissolve other substances. Solute : a dissolved substance Membrane : a thin, soft flexible sheet or layer especially of a plant or animal part Semi-Permeable Membrane : a membrane that only allows certain substances to pass through. Concentration : the amount of a component in a given substance. Equilibrium : a state of adjustment between opposing or divergent influences or elements

Gummy Bear Osmosis Lab

Gummy Bears Small Clear Bowls or Jars Water Sparkling Water White Vinegar Oil

I like to start this in the morning so you can check on it throughout the day and see the changes in the gummy bears.

STEP 1: Lay out four bowls on the table and put a gummy bear in each bowl. Then beside each bowl put another gummy bear of the same color so you can compare the two easily over the course of the day.

STEP 2: Measure equal amounts of each of your solvents. We used a quarter of a cup of water, sparkling water, white vinegar and oil and poured them over the gummy bears in the bowl.

STEP 3: This is a great time to have a discussion about osmosis and have your kids make predictions about what they think is going to happen in each bowl and why. What effect might each substance have on the gummy bear? Have the kids write down their predictions.

STEP 4: Set a timer for an hour and let the bears do their thing.

STEP 5: Check back each hour for the rest of the day and write down observations over the course of the day.

Gummy Bear Osmosis Experiment Results

Now the exciting part… the results of our experiment! Let’s take a look at the results individually first.

When gummy bears are soaked in water the bear will swell and grow in size. This is because the water will flow into the gummy bear through its semi-permeable membrane. The sugar molecules try to spread and dissolve but they can’t get out of the gelatin so they expand resulting in the gummy bear expanding.

Sparkling Water

Will have a similar result to water. The only difference is that the addition of carbon dioxide to the water can have an acidic effect on the bears which would cause the outside to soften allowing more water to be able to pass through the bear and it swells up more. You will also be able to observe the carbon dioxide bubble sticking to the outside of the bear.

White Vinegar

White Vinegar will have an acidic reaction with the gummy bear softening the outside of it, however the liquid is not as easily absorbed into the bear as water so the gummy may get softer but will not change in size as much as the bears soaked in water.

Because oil is polar it doesn’t mix well with water or other substances. The oil will have very little effect on the bears and you will not see much change if any at all. This gummy bear will also retain its color the best because the oil isn’t breaking down the bear or being absorbed into it so the structure and color will remain the same.

Comparing the Results

The most fascinating part of this experiment is comparing the results of the different solvents. Set the gummy bears out side by side with their controls so you can visually see the differences.

To get really scientific with your results, which is perfect for your older kids or kids needing more of a challenge, have them weigh and measure the gummies and compare results with the controls and each other.

You can also dissect the gummy bears and view them under a microscope to look for microscopic changes.

Extension Ideas

I think your kids will love this Gummy Bear Lab experiment on Osmosis! Encourage your students to get creative and add other variations like adding things like salt or baking soda to the water to see if it changes the results. Or try other solvents.

Want more osmosis experiments? Try this Rainbow Water Beads Experiment or the Bouncy Egg Experiment which involves a chemical reaction and osmosis.

Want more gummy science? Check out our Gummy Mummies . Or make your own gummies! You can check out these recipes on the site: Valentine’s Day Gummies , Star Wars Gummies , Rainbow Dragon Egg Gummies .

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Grow a Gummy Bear STEM Challenge

February 15, 2024 By Emma Vanstone Leave a Comment

Have you ever wished your sweets were bigger? One easy way to grow a gummy bear or any other jelly type sweet is to put it in water. The candy will grow but might not taste as good!

Water moves into the gummy bear through a process called osmosis . Osmosis is the movement of water through a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration. Water moves across the membrane until the water concentration is the same on both sides.

We designed an investigation to find out what happens to a gummy bear in plain water and salt water.

You’ll need

Gummy bears or other jelly sweet

Kitchen scales – optional

Small bowls or cups

Instructions

Add enough water to two small bowls to cover the gummy bear completely. Each bowl should contain the same amount of water.

Add a tablespoon of salt to one bowl and stir well.

Weigh each gummy bear and record the weight.

Place one gummy bear into each bowl.

Keep a third gummy bear to one side. This is the control gummy bear.

Check every 30 minutes for about 3 hours.

Weigh the gummy bears again.

You should find that the gummy bear in plain water increases in size, and the gummy bear in salt water either shrinks or stays the same size.

The biggest gummy bear was the one soaked in plain water and the one at the bottom the control.

Extension Tasks

Add the expanded gummy bear to salt water and leave for several hours. It should shrink back down as water moves out of the gummy bear and into the salty water.

Set up an investigation with a series of bowls containing different amounts of salt. Watch what happens to each gummy bear!

What’s happening

Gummy bears and other jelly sweets are made mostly from water, gelatin and sugar. The concentration of water inside the gummy bear is low compared to outside the gummy bear, so water moves into the sweet by osmosis. This is why the gummy bear in plain water grows in size.

The concentration of the water in the salty water is probably similar to that inside the gummy bear, so this sweet does not increase in size. If you made the water extra salty, the gummy bear might shrink as water moves out of the bear into the water.

More science ideas

Learn more about osmosis with eggs ! If you remove the shell of an egg with vinegar to reveal the membrane and place it in water, the egg will grow in size as water moves into the egg.

Build candy towers, a candy house, try some candy chromatography and more with my collection of candy science experiments .

Last Updated on February 16, 2024 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

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Science Project Ideas

Gummy Bear Experiment

The gummy bear experiment is a fun activity that teaches the basic concept of osmosis to the little ones in an easy manner. They will also be thrilled at the idea that their favorite gummy bears could teach them a lesson or two in science.

Gummy Bear Science Project Instructions

Hypothesis for growing/shrinking gummy bears.

When a gummy bear is placed in a hypotonic solution (e.g. water) then it will increase in mass and volume. On the other hand, its mass and volume decrease when placed in a hypertonic solution (e.g. salt water). Hypertonic refers to a higher concentration of solutes and hypotonic is just the reverse.

Things Needed

• Physical balance or digital weighing machine
• Sieve, plastic fork or screen
• Graph paper
• Measure the dimensions (length, breadth and height) of the bear with a scale. Measure its mass with the balance.
• Fill the bowl with water.
• Completely immerse the gummy bear in the water.
• Let the bowl sit overnight in a place away from direct sunlight.
• Next day, lift the bear from the water with a plastic fork, sieve or screen.
• Record the dimensions and mass of the bear again.
• Do the same observation each day for a couple of days more.
• Plot a graph with the time in hours along the X-axis (the dependent variable) and the mass or weight of the gummy bear along the Y-axis (independent variable). Check the nature of the graph.

Things You Can Try

• Set up a series of bowls on the table and fill them with different solutions like that of baking soda, vinegar, salt, distilled water, etc. Make similar observations as above for each one of them. Compare your results.
• Also, check if the taste and/or color of the bears have changed.

Gummy Bear Osmosis Video

How does it work.

The ingredients of gummy bears are sugar, water, and gelatin, with little water content. Due to the process of osmosis, i.e., the movement of water molecules through a selectively permeable membrane from an area of high concentration to that of a lower concentration, the bear starts to grow. However, it doesn’t get dissolved as the gelatin is insoluble in water.

On trying out the different ideas, you will find that the degree of expansion of the candy depends on the liquid on which it is kept. However, vinegar, which is actually an acid, can dissolve the candy .

This simple trick can prove to be a cool science fair idea. The kids will be enthralled to display their knowledge to the audience in a fun way.

References:

https://biozone.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/4/2/274298/gummy_bear_osmosis.pdf

https://tinkerlab.com/incredible-growing-gummy-bears/

https://www.childrensmuseum.org/blog/saturday-science-growing-gummy-bears

https://www.homeschool.com/blog/index.php/2014/04/homeschool-science-gummy-bear-osmosis/

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Gummy Bear Osmosis Experiment

Learn about the process of osmosis when you try this easy gummy bear osmosis experiment with the kids. Watch your gummy bears grow as you investigate what liquid makes them grow the biggest. We are always on the hunt for simple science experiments and this one is just super fun and easy!

Explore Science With Gummy Bears

A fun gummy bear experiment all in the name of science and learning! There are so many simple science experiments that are quick and easy to set up for young children. Older children can easily add data collection, graphing and charts to turn this fun edible science experiment into more of a challenge!

Grab a bag of gummy bears or alternatively, you can make your own homemade gummy bears with our easy 3 ingredient gummy bear recipe .

Then head into the kitchen to grab your supplies and let’s find out what happens when you add gummy bears to different liquids. Watch your gummy bears as you investigate what makes gummy bears grow the biggest.

LOOK: 15 Amazing Candy Science Experiments

Set Up A Gummy Bear Osmosis Lab

Let’s find out what liquid makes gummy bears grow the biggest! Remember, the dependent variable is the size of the gummy bears and the independent variable is the liquid you use. Learn more about variables in science.

• Gummy bears
• baking soda
• ruler or measuring scale
• optional – stopwatch

TIP: Extend the experiment by using additional liquids such as juice, vinegar, oil, milk, baking soda mixed with water etc.

Instructions:

STEP 1. Carefully measure and pour the same amount of water into 3 cups. Add the same amount of distilled water to another cup if using. Pour the same amount of vinegar into another cup.

STEP 2. Add sugar to one cup of water, baking soda and salt in another. Mix well.

STEP 3. Weigh and/or measure each gummy bear beforehand. Use the printable worksheet above to record your measurements.

STEP 4. Add a gummy bear to each cup.

STEP 5. Then set the cups aside and wait to observe what will happen. Check them again after 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours.

TIP: This gummy bear experiment takes at least 12 hours to work!

STEP 6. Remove your gummy bear from the liquid and carefully measure and/or weigh each one. What liquid made the gummy bears grow the biggest? Why was that?

Free Printable Gummy Bear Lab Worksheet

Use the free gummy bear data sheet below to track your results! It’s perfect for older kids to add to a science notebook.

How Does Osmosis Occur In Gummy Bears?

The process of moving water across a semi-permeable membrane from a low concentrated solution to a high concentrated solution is called osmosis . A semi-permeable membrane is a thin sheet of tissue or layer of cells acting as a wall that allows only some molecules like water molecules to pass through.

The main ingredients in gummy bears are gelatin, sugar and flavoring. The semi-permeable membrane in gummy bears is the gelatin.

CHECK OUT: How To Make Slime With Gelatin

It is the gelatin that also stops the gummy bears from dissolving in liquids, other than an acidic solution such as vinegar.

When you place gummy bears in water, the water moves into them through osmosis since gummy bears don’t contain water. The water is moving from a low concentration solution to a high concentration solution.

Learn more about osmosis with our potato osmosis lab.

Using The Scientific Method With Kids

The scientific method is a process or method of research. A problem is identified, information about the problem is gathered, a hypothesis or question is formulated from the information, and the hypothesis is put to test with an experiment to prove or disprove its validity.

Sounds heavy… What in the world does that mean?!?

The scientific method can simply be used as a guide to help lead the discovery process. You don’t need to try and solve the world’s biggest science questions! The scientific method is all about studying and learning things right around you.

As kids develop practices that involve creating, gathering data, evaluating, analyzing, and communicating, they can apply these critical thinking skills to any situation.

💡To learn more about the scientific method and how to use it, CLICK HERE .

Even though the scientific method seems like it is just for big kids, this method can be used with kids of all ages! You can have a casual conversation with younger kids or do a more formal notebook entry with older kids!

Gummy Bear Science Fair Project

Science projects are an excellent way for older kids to show what they know about science. They can also be used in various environments, including classrooms, homeschools, and groups.

Kids can take everything they have learned about using the scientific method , stating a hypothesis, choosing variables , and analyzing and presenting data.

💡 Sample Hypothesis: If a gummy bear is placed in water overnight, then it will increase in size due to the process of osmosis, where water molecules move from an area of higher concentration (the water) to an area of lower concentration (inside the gummy bear).

Want to turn this gummy bear osmosis experiment into an awesome science fair project? Check out these helpful resources.

• Science Project Tips From A Teacher
• Science Fair Board Ideas
• Easy Science Fair Projects

More Fun Candy Science Experiments

• Try a candy taste test with chocolate.
• Why do the colors not mix in this skittles experiment?
• Dissolving candy corn experiment is fun to do !
• Make a coke and mentos eruption !
• What happens when you add pop rocks to soda?
• Try this floating M&M experiment.

Helpful Science Resources

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• 8 Science Books for Kids
• All About Scientists
• Science Supplies List
• Science Tools for Kids

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

• 90+ classic science activities  with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information.  NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!
• Best science practices posters  and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!
• Be a Collector activities pack  introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
• Know the Words Science vocabulary pack  includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!
• My science journal writing prompts  explore what it means to be a scientist!!
• Bonus STEAM Project Pack:  Art meets science with doable projects!
• Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

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~ projects to try now ~.

• Cooking & Baking /
• Kitchen science /

Gummy Bear Science Project

It is time for these little bears to grow up...and out with this gummy bear science project! Watch as gummy bears grow and shrink in different liquids in this kid-friendly experiment. This project is open for exploration and discovery, so kick things off by asking your child what they will happen to a gummy bear in water. Will it dissolve? Will it shrink or grow? Will it fall apart? How long will it take? Don’t forget to grab a notebook to write down their ideas so you can compare what they predicted with what actually happens! You’ll start to see results in just a few hours, and you’ll definitely see big changes in size in just a day.

Want to explore more kitchen science experiments? Explore the tastier side of learning with Science of Cooking: Ice Cream from the KiwiCo Store !

Ages: 5 - 11

<30 minutes

Grownup needed

Materials you'll need

• gummy bears
• water (3 cups)
• food scale - optional

Step-by-step tutorial

After the bears go into the water (or salt water, or sugar water), do NOT allow your child to eat them. Bacteria could start growing in the water as the bears soak, making them unsafe to eat.

Spoiler alert: this experiment explores osmosis. That’s a chemistry term for the motion of water through a barrier (like a gummy bear). If you give this a try, you’ll see that the gummy bear in the plain water will grow — a lot! One question that might come up is why gummy bears grow when other candies (like peppermints) dissolve. That’s because gummy bears, unlike peppermints, contain gelatin (which doesn’t dissolve in water) as well as sugar (which does). If you zoomed way in to look at the individual gelatin molecules, you’d see that they’re all tangled together, with tiny pockets in between where liquid can get trapped. As you’ll see in this experiment, those pockets can hold a lot of liquid! This strong but flexible gelatin structure is what makes gummies, well, gummy. Give it a try and see what happens, or scroll to the bottom for more about gummy bear osmosis!

Heat 1 cup of water over the stove. Slowly add salt to it and stir. (You’ll need around 7-9 tablespoons.) Continue adding salt until it no longer dissolves and a few salt crystals remain at the bottom. You now have a supersaturated salt solution.

You can skip the heating step if you’re working with younger kids or if you just don’t want to spend the time. The experiment will still work and you’ll see similar results — the bears may just be somewhat different sizes as ours.

Pour the salt solution into a bowl. Let the mixture come to room temperature. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with sugar instead of salt to get a supersaturated sugar solution.

Finally, fill the last bowl with normal water. You now have three bowls filled with different solutions.

Take your gummy bears and place a few in each bowl. Remember to save a few as control tests. Let the bears sit in the bowls for 12-72 hours. How do you think the bears will react with each solution?

Now observe the bears! (These are our bears after 48 hours.) You can use a kitchen scale to see how heavy each bear is using the control bears as a reference point. Are some bears more jiggly than others? Did the color change at all? Can you find a way to shrink the largest gummy? Continue to experiment by soaking your bears in different liquids and different concentrations!

When you drop a gummy bear into plain water, you’ll see the bear grow and grow as water flows into the bear. Why? The water moves to even out the stuff dissolved in it. Outside the gummy bear, you have water with nothing in it. Inside the gummy bear (trapped inside those pockets in the gelatin), you have water + sugar. There’s more stuff inside the bear, so the water moves into the bear to try and make the proportion of sugar molecules to water the same in both places. (You can think about this like a sugar cube dissolving in a cup of water. If you let it sit for long enough, the water at the top of the cup will be as sweet as the water at the bottom.) So what about the salt water? You still have water + sugar inside of the bear. But outside of the bear, you have water + salt. Salt molecules are much smaller than sugar molecules, so more of them will dissolve in water. This means there’s more stuff in the water than there is inside the bear. So this time the water moves out of the bear to try and even things out. The sugar water is an interesting case because just like the salt, you have a lot of stuff dissolved in the water outside of the bear. But this time, we saw the water flowing into the bear, not out. That tells us that there must be more sugar inside the bear than there is in the water outside.

Final result!

You don’t need to stop here! You can try changing the amount of sugar and salt, or test out different liquids. Or, to add a little bit of math to the activity, weigh your gummy bears on a kitchen scale every day and make a chart of how it changes over time. Happy experimenting!

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Growing Gummy Bear Science

Looking for a fun candy science experiment ?!  Learn about osmosis with this oh-so-simple gummy bear science experiment!

Go ahead! Raid your candy stash – and this time you can do it in the name of science!

Follow the simple step-by-step below and then grab 30 more easy-to-follow science experiments kids will beg to repeat (plus a no prep science journal to keep track of their results!) in our shop !

Getting Ready

To prep, I gathered 2 small bowls, water, salt and gummy bears, of course.  It couldn’t get much simpler than that.

Growing Gummy Bears

In this candy science experiment , we compared gummy bears left in water to those placed in salt water.

To get started, we needed to make about a cup of supersaturated salt water solution.  So, we added salt, a little bit at a time, to a cup of boiling water until no more salt dissolved.  (Please use caution when allowing your little one to work with hot water.)

Once the water couldn’t hold anymore salt, we let it cool in the fridge.  If you use warm water for your experiment, you could melt your gummy bear.

When the salt water cooled, it was time to fill the bowls.  My kids poured a little salt water in one bowl and plain tap water in another.

Next, we gathered our gummy bears and compared them to pick ones of similar size.

They placed a couple gummy bears in the salt water and a couple in the plain water. They wanted to eat the remaining gummies, but I reminded them we needed to save them as the controls.  We wanted to be sure we could compare what happened to the ones we put in the different water solutions.

Now all we had to do was wait!

We started this experiment in the evening so we waited overnight.

You’ll need to let them soak for several hours, but I wouldn’t leave them for longer than overnight or they might fall apart on you.

My 5 year-old predicted the gummy bears in the plain water would expand and the ones in the salt water would shrink.

This is what we found the next morning….

The yellow bear was the control, the red was the salt water gummy and the green was soaked in plain water.

Both kiddos were surprised to see how much bigger the bears soaked in plain water had become.  They noticed the bears soaked in salt water were a little bit bigger but not that much.

My curious 3 year-old decided he needed to eat his gummy and popped a salt water gummy in his mouth. Oh, was he surprised when it was salty on the inside!

The Science Behind Growing Gummy Bears

To make gummy bears, sugar, gelatin and flavor are dissolved in a warm water solution.

As the solution cools, water leaves the gelatin solution and the bears become firm but chewy.  (Not all the water leaves the gelatin however, otherwise the gummy bears would be rock hard.)

It’s this little bit of water that makes the gummy bears act as a solution of water, one with a lot of sugar dissolved in it.

The plain water in the bowl, however, had very little dissolve in it.  We’ve learned from our egg experiment (the one with the dissolved shell) that different solutions of water will want to balance each other.

The plain water, with very little dissolved in it, will move toward the solution of water with a lot dissolved in it, the gummy bear.

This movement of a solvent from one of lower concentration to higher concentration is called osmosis.

The force behind that movement of water is called osmotic pressure.

In the bowl with the salt water, we tried to balance the amount of stuff (salt) dissolved in the water with the amount of sugar dissolved in the gummy bear.

Since our gummy bear placed in the salt water solution did expand a little bit, we knew our salt water solution did have a lot dissolved in it but not quite as much as the gummy bear did.

So, a little water moved into the gummy bear to balance the two solutions.

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