6 Which Liquid Dissolves an M&M Shell the Fastest While Stirring and Not Stirring?

Hypothesis: I thought that coke was going to be the best because there is a lot of carbonation in side of it.

Question: Which liquids dissolves an M&M Shell the Fastest While Stirring and not Stirring?

Problem: Which substance, banana chocolate milk, milk, water, orange juice, or coke would dissolve the outer M&M shell in the shortest time?

Procedure: 1) First I gathered five plastic cups.

2) Next, I got five different kinds of liquids and poured a little bit into each plastic cup.

3) Then, I grabbed a timer and timed the liquids one by one.

4) Finally, I repeated the procedure two more times one with stirring and without stirring.

Conclusion:

All substances, banana chocolate milk, milk, water, orange juice, and coke where used and the stirring and non-stirring method to determine which would cause the M&M shell to dissolve the quickest. My original hypothesis was found to be wrong. All my tests were preformed at room temperature and timed in the same manner. The determination was that water dissolves the M&M shell the quickest while stirring.

Abstract:

For my Science fair experiment, I want to know what five liquids would take the shell off the M&M the fastest. My hypothesis is the coke because it has a lot of carbonation, and it would take the shell off the quickest.

I took five cups and set them on my table. Then I took five different kinds of liquids: banana chocolate milk, Coke, water, orange juice and whole milk and poured a little bit into each plastic cup. I dropped an M&M in each cup. I got my timer and timed each one waiting for the shell to disappear. For the first round of testing, I picked up each cup and swirled it around stirring the liquid inside the cup. For the second round of testing, I did not stir the liquid. I recorded my results for each round of testing.

When comparing the amount of time it took to dissolve the outer shell of the M&Ms, the stirring method was faster than the non-stirring method with all the liquids. The fastest liquid (stirring) was water at 36.86 sec. The slowest liquid (stirring) was orange juice. The fastest (non-stirring) liquid was milk at 3:05.05 sec and the slowest liquid (non-stirring) banana chocolate milk at 4:34.03 sec.

In conclusion, my hypothesis was proven incorrect. I thought coke with its carbonation would break down the shell faster but I was wrong. I was surprised that water was the fastest when I stirred the liquid because it doesn’t have any additives and is the most pure of the liquids. It didn’t surprise me that the stirring method was the quickest for all the liquids because I thought that the force when stirring would help the shell dissolve quicker. Overall, I enjoyed doing this experiment and learning the scientific method.