Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Radioactive Dating: Looking at Half Lives Using M&ms

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this activity, students gain a better understanding of radioactive dating and half-lives by using M&Ms to demonstrate the idea of radioactive decay. They will be able to see how scientists can determine the age of rocks by looking...
Activity
American Chemical Society

Inquiry in Action: Mysterious M&m's

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will ask questions and learn more about dissolving in this activity where they place M&M in water. Activity includes students activity sheet and teacher instructions.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Exponential Growth and Decay : M&m's Activity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this activity, students use the TI InterActive! to model exponential growth and decay.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Deviant M&ms

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity uses the basic M&M color activity of old to introduce students to CellSheet, CellSheet Converter, and TI-InterActive! while figuring the % Deviation for each color. If there is extra time or for a more advanced math...
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: M&m's and Decay Graphs

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Observe exponential decay with the classic M&M lab, here written up and ready to go. At the end, the author intends for students to send equations and data to the teacher via TI-Navigator, but this step can done on paper if the...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Isotopes: Using M&m's as a Model for Calculating Atomic Mass

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity allows students to gain an understanding of the relationship between the mass and relative abundance of an isotope and its effect on the average atomic mass of the element. Students will be given a random sample of the...
Activity
American Chemical Society

Inquiry in Action: Colors Collide or Combine

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Do M&Ms colors combine or collide when they are put together on a plate of water? This lab activity will have students investigating what happens when M&Ms get wet.
Activity
American Chemical Society

Inquiry in Action: Racing M&m Colors

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An activity where students can experiment with whether different colors of M&Ms dissolve faster in water versus others. This lab includes a student worksheet and teacher instructions.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Why Aren't There More Reds in My Bag?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use small bags of M&M's to make predictions, gather data, and display color distribution results in a circle graph. They explore the concept of ratios and sample size.