M&M Lab Biology

M&M’s and the Scientific Method Objective:
Introduce the scientific method including terminology
Provide a fun activity for students to experience how the scientific method is used

Description of activity

Supplies: Three regular sized bags of M&M’s Three bags of peanut M&M’s

Activity:
1. Get 1 bag of M&M’s.
2. Guess how many M&M’s are in your bag of M&M’s. Write it down. That is your hypothesis. (DO NOT OPEN BAG)
3. Open your bag of M&M’s and answer your questions (data collection/experimentation)
4. Also, be sure to count the total number of M&M’s in your bag and the number of each color M&M in your bag.

Fill in the following information as you work:

Question:
Hypothesis:

Repeat this experiment 2 more times.

Fill in Table:
Bag #
Total number of M&M’s in bag
Number of Green M&M’s
Number of Brown M&M’s
Number of Yellow M&M’s
Number of Orange M&M’s
Number of Blue M&M’s
Number of Red M&M’s
1

2

3

Data Analysis
From your data, what would be an accurate way to determine the number of M&M’s in a random bag you pick up at the grocery store?

The average of the numbers provides an accurate description of the number of M&M’s in a randomly chosen bag. Calculate the average number of each color M&M per bag.

Extension
Now get your bags of peanut M&M’s.
Do we know anything about this bag of M&M’s based on our data?

Activity:
1. Get 1 bag of peanut M&M’s.
2. Guess how many M&M’s are in your bag of peanut M&M’s. Write it down. That is your hypothesis. (DO NOT OPEN BAG)
3. Open your bag of peanut M&M’s and answer your questions (data collection/experimentation)
4. Also, be sure to count the total number of peanut M&M’s in your bag and the number of each color peanut M&M in your bag.

Fill in the following information as you work:

Question:
Hypothesis:

Repeat this