Which can Hold the Most Marshmallows

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Marshmallows and Containers
Science in a Jar!
Click here to move on
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Which container will hold the most marshmallows
Which has the greatest volume
Let's investigate!
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But firstwhat is volume?

• Volume is the amount of space an object takes up.

Volume

• We can measure the volume of a container by
  counting the number of marshmallows that fit
  inside the container.

Let's try it!
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Here are the things you need

• Miniature marshmallows
• 3 different size containers
• pencil
• 2 worksheets teacher will provide this

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Step 1
Look at the 3 containers
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1
3
Pick the one that you think would hold the most
marshmallows and click on it.
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On worksheet A, put a check mark in the box
next to the container that you think will hold
the most marshmallows.
A Name _______ Which do you think will
hold more marshmallows? 1. 2.
3.
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Step 2

• Go to the work table where the three containers
  are set up.
• With your group, fill each container up to the
  rim with marshmallows. Count each marshmallow as
  you put it in.
• Do not pack the marshmallows in. Just drop the
  marshmallows down in the container gently.

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Step 3

• On Worksheet B, record in the boxes the number
  of marshmallows that fit in each container.

B Name _______ How many marshmallows
fit in each container? 1. 2.
3.
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Step 3

• Use your data from Worksheet B to make a bar
  graph similar to this one.

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2
3
Container
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Step 4

• Look at your bar graph. Which container held the
  most marshmallows?
• Which container held the least marshmallows?
• Compare your graph to another groups graph.
  Note any differences and/or similarities.

• Write your answers to these questions on the back
  of Worksheet B.

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More Questions

• Which container is the tallest? The shortest?
• Did the tallest container hold the most
  marshmallows?
• Which container has the greatest volume?

• Write your answers to these questions on the
  back of Worksheet B.

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What do you think?

• Will a taller container always have a bigger
  volume than a shorter one? Why?
• What would happen if we used large instead of
  miniature marshmallows?
• Can you think of another way to measure the
  volume inside a container?

Record your answers.
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A brief explanation

• Container 2 and 3 (jar and bowl) held more
  marshmallows than container 1 (tall cylinder
  vase) because they have a much greater width than
  the tall cylinder vase.
• The container that held the most marshmallows has
  the greatest volume because the space inside that
  container is largest and provided more space to
  fit the marshmallows.
• The volume of a space figure is the number of
  cubic units the figure contains. In this
  lesson, we used marshmallows as a unit of
  measure.

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Continued

• Variations in how the marshmallows were packed,
  differences in how completely the containers were
  filled, and errors in counting could all account
  for the differences in data and graphs when
  compared to others.

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Now...enjoy some yummy, delicious marshmallows!
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SOURCES
Isaacs, A.C., Kelso, C.R. (1996). Pictures,
tables, graphs, and questions Statistical
processes. Teaching Children Mathematics. 2(6)
340-345