Gummy Bear Chemistry

• A candy maker named, Hans Riegel started the Haribo candy company in 1920. In 1922, he created the dancing bear candy made of gum arabic. The dancing bear candy was larger than the modern gummy bear. Modern gummy bears come in five colors. They are red, clear, orange, green, and yellow. Modern gummy bears contain sugar, glucose syrup, starch, food coloring, citric acid, and gelatin.

• Solutions are mixtures that are mixed evenly throughout and can not be separated. The solute is the material that gets mixed into the solvent. The solvent dissolves the solute. I created solutions by adding one tablespoon of the following solutes into one cup of water: baking soda, sugar, and salt. Baking soda is called sodium bicarbonate. It is a salt that is made of sodium and bicarbonate ions. Baking soda is a white power that can be used for cooking. Sugar is found naturally in plants. It is a carbohydrate that can be consumed. Sugar is formed when fructose and glucose join together. Salt is a crystalline mineal that is made up of sodium chloride.

• Milk, vinegar, and water are three liquids that will also be used in the investigation. Milk is a white liquid that is produced by mammals to feed their young. Vinegar is a liquid that contains acetic acid and water. …show more content…
Previous scientists have found that placing a gummy bear in water will result in the largest increase of size. Other liquids can affect the size of the gummy bear, but not as much as water. When the gummy bear is placed in a cup of water, osmosis takes place. Molecules from the water in the cup go through the semi-permeable membrane of the gummy bear. The molecule smove from the less concentrated solvent into the higher concentrated one. The molecules of water in the cup become crowded, and they move into the gummy bear. This passing of water into the gummy bear causes it to