M&M Mass Measurements Lab
Using candy can in fact encourage most science inquiry including finding mass and estimation! If you have access to a simple balance or a triple beam balance, then you already have the necessary science tools to make this M&M Mass Measurements Lab happen!
As a Christian Book and Amazon affiliate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support. As always, we only recommend items that we truly feel will benefit your homeschooling experience. We appreciate it.
M&M Mass Measurement Lab using a Triple Beam Balance
Before we started measuring the mass of M&M’s, we had a quick review. Mass is the amount of matter in something… or… how much stuff is in something. A great example of this is to take two plastic containers with lids that are the same size. Fill one up with marbles and the other one with feathers. They both have the same volume, which is the amount of space something takes up, but the mass is different. The container with the marbles has more matter in it- thus, mass. The container with the feathers has less matter in it- thus, mass. Now, moving on…
We also reviewed how to use the triple beam balance, which was a consistent theme throughout our M&M Mass Measurement Lab. Before breaking out the candy, I demonstrated how to use the triple beam balance with them. We discussed how to calibrate the scale and to make sure that all of the nodules should be on zero before ever measuring the mass of an object.
If this is your students first time using a triple beam balance, be patient. It takes time to figure it all out, but what fun it can be to use “real” science tools.
M&M TIME! We started with just one M&M. The boys were asked, “How much mass do you think 1 M&M is?” The boys would estimate how much mass in grams they thought an M&M would be and we recorded their estimation on a scratch sheet of paper.
Once we actually found out how much the M&M was (.8 g), we compared it to our estimates. Now that we knew how much 1 M&M was, I asked them to estimate how much they thought 2 M&M’s would be. The boys continued to add 1 more M&M every time comparing their findings and adjusting their estimates for the next M&M Mass Measurement.
The boys took turns finding the mass of the M&M’s on the triple beam balance which provided each of them with time using this science tool.
They learned very quickly that although each M&M may look alike, the M&M’s are not exactly the same in color nor mass. We went to 5 and then quickly jumped to 10.
M&M Mass Measurement using a Scale Balance
The younger kiddos were eager to use their simple balance too. Truthfully, the basic balance offers a lot of insight when comparing objects and is the perfect beginners tool for understanding the measuring of mass.The older kids use it with confidence and prefer it more than not.
The kids compared sets of M&M’s seeing which set had more or less mass.
We spent time estimating how many M&M’s we thought it would take to balance with the 10 gram weight. And then the 20 gram and 50 gram weight! All the while we would eat M&M’s… YUM!
Honestly, the younger kids may not have understood exactly what was going on, but the fact is, they were participating and hearing the language. In my book, I may not know exactly what it is they are learning at any given moment, but that isn’t for me to know. It doesn’t take a genius to see that something is going on when their eyes twinkle!
Right now, my on-going goal is to teach them to love learning. I do good some days and other days, I learn.
Try out these other FREE resources!
