Foods Lesson: Root Beer Float Experiment

I knew that I wanted to incorporate more science and other core curriculum into my classes. One way I have been doing that is by the use of various food experiments. However, the experiments I have seen on the internet are geared towards younger children in a home environment. That's all fine and good but I need more.

It has been years since I have been in a science classroom as a learner so I had to re-teach myself the scientific or experiment process.

Pose a question (situation, prediction, engaging activity).
Run the experiment with variables.
Record findings or data.
Evaluate or conclude the experiment.

I know I need this format for middle and high school learners. The problem is, there seemed to be nothing of this sort on the internet. Just experiments for kindergarten students that asked them to identify the solid, liquid, and gas.

So I decided to make it myself. 

I had to ask myself what science and math applications I could involve in this experiment. Then I had to come up with the questions to lead the students to collect their data. 

It was huge a success! It was amazing to see the students playing with their food beyond cooking. 

The next time I run this experiment, I'm going to have a mini science lecture on matter, displacement, measuring, and chemical/physical change prior to the experiment. It is a fairly quick experiment so a mini lecture could totally fit in a 45 minute class period. 

You can download the document I created here.

Let me know how your experiments work out and if you have any suggestions/changes.