Gummy bear osmosis Follow FizzicsEd 150 Science Experiments: Comments 21 You will need: A packet of gummy bears Salt At least two bowls Water Optional: sugar, stopwatch and either measuring scales or a ruler Written by Fizzics Education. Reviewed by Ben Newsome CF. Cite this experiment Copyright Notice Instruction 1 Pour the same amount of water into each of your bowls. You’ll want enough water to be able to immerse your gummy bears in this activity. 2 Add salt to one of your bowls of water and leave the other with just plain water. You could also make another bowl with sugar added to it too as an extra experimental test. 3 Place a gummy bear into each of the bowls. Keep a gummy bear aside as a control for measuring against later. Now it’s time to wait! 4 Over time you’ll find that one of your gummy bears will start to swell. How big can the gummy bear get? That’s up to you to find out! 5 Look at the difference! Do you know why this worked? Read below! 6 Get the Unit of Work on Water Science here! Explore the water cycle Learn about cohesion, adhesion & capillary action From water currents to floatation, join us to explore water science! Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more 7 School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too! 8 Online courses for teachers & parents – Help students learn how science really works What is happening? The Science of Gummy Bear Osmosis The gummy bear experiment is a classic demonstration of osmosis. This is the biological process where water molecules move from an area of high water concentration (a dilute solution) to an area of low water concentration (a more concentrated solution). The gummy bear acts as a semi-permeable membrane. Its gelatin structure allows tiny water molecules to pass through, but it traps the larger sugar and protein molecules inside. Because the gummy bear is essentially a “solid” block of sugar and gelatin, the concentration gradient between the bear and the plain water is very high, causing the bear to swell significantly as water rushes in. In saltwater, the effect is different. Because the surrounding water already contains dissolved salt, the difference in water concentration is smaller. The gummy bear won’t swell as much because the system reaches equilibrium (where the water concentration inside and outside the bear is the same) much sooner. Osmosis Vocabulary Hypertonic Solution A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of solute (salt or sugar) than the inside of a cell or gummy bear. In this environment, water moves out of the object, causing it to shrink or look wrinkled. Isotonic Solution An isotonic solution has an equal concentration of solute compared to the inside of the object. Water moves in and out at the same rate, so the size remains stable and “healthy.” Hypotonic Solution A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solute than the inside of the object. Water moves into the object. This is what happened to your gummy bear in pure water, making it swell up and become fragile. Application Within your body, every cell membrane uses osmosis to control its internal environment. While our gummy bears are simply semi-permeable, human cells are selectively permeable. This means they use specialized “pumps” and channels to choose exactly which proteins, ions, and nutrients can enter or exit, ensuring your body stays in a state of homeostasis. Variables to test Find out more on variable testing here. Solute Concentration Try differing amounts of salt or sugar in the water. Can you predict the final size of the bear as the concentration in the water increases? Thermal Energy What happens if you use hot, warm, or cold water? Does the speed of osmosis increase with temperature, or does the hot water simply dissolve the gelatin? Pigmentation Does the colour of the gummy bear matter? Does the dye used in the bear affect how much water can be absorbed? ✅ Reviewed: April 5, 2026 APA 7 Citation: Fizzics Education. (2020). Gummy bear osmosis. https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/150-science-experiments/kitchen-chemistry-experiments/gummy-bear-osmosis/ Copy APA Citation Reviewer This resource was last reviewed for scientific accuracy on April 5, 2026. Ben Newsome CF is the recipient of the 2023 UTS Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and a Churchill Fellow. He is a global leader in science communication and the founder of Fizzics Education. Learn more! Chemistry Capers Years K to 6 Maximum 30 students Hands-on science workshop 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now Working with Water Years K to 2 Maximum 30 students School workshop (NSW & VIC) 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Read More Enquire Now Hands-on Kids Science Party >20 hands on science experiments Gigantic bubbles Slime making Professional science show From $395 inc. GST Read More
Pour the same amount of water into each of your bowls. You’ll want enough water to be able to immerse your gummy bears in this activity.
Add salt to one of your bowls of water and leave the other with just plain water. You could also make another bowl with sugar added to it too as an extra experimental test.
Place a gummy bear into each of the bowls. Keep a gummy bear aside as a control for measuring against later. Now it’s time to wait!
Over time you’ll find that one of your gummy bears will start to swell. How big can the gummy bear get? That’s up to you to find out!
Get the Unit of Work on Water Science here! Explore the water cycle Learn about cohesion, adhesion & capillary action From water currents to floatation, join us to explore water science! Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more
School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too!
Chemistry Capers Years K to 6 Maximum 30 students Hands-on science workshop 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now
Working with Water Years K to 2 Maximum 30 students School workshop (NSW & VIC) 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now
STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Read More Enquire Now
Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials.
Hands-on Kids Science Party >20 hands on science experiments Gigantic bubbles Slime making Professional science show From $395 inc. GST Read More
>20 hands on science experiments Gigantic bubbles Slime making Professional science show From $395 inc. GST
Like the one on Osmosis and sinking the boat. Simple and easy for Content Language Integrated Learning in elementary school of Taiwan. Reply
We’re glad that you enjoyed these experiments Joseph! There are over 150 free experiments on this site, all designed for elementary students using simple materials. Lots to do for curious minds! Reply
Hi, I did this with a Yr 5 class. I am a casual teacher and there was no work left so as part of the day we did this. It does require a bit of time to set up and sit. We started in the middle session and looked at the results at the end of the day. We did instructional writing (Literacy), we measure the gummi bears before and after in cms (Measurement), we looked compared sizes before and after and engaged in scientific thinking on what else we could test this way. We had a wonderful time making predictions and then the students put the gummi bears back into the solutions to see what would happen overnight. In between other activities, this experiment kept the student focus throughout the day. Thank you Fizzics! Reply
That’s fantastic to hear Katherine! We love that science can be used for multiple student outcomes and this is certainly a great experiment to watch over time. Love it 🙂 Reply
That’s great to hear Sharon! We’re glad that you have found these free experiments useful for your family 🙂 Reply
Try it out! This experiment is about water moving from higher concentration of water to lower concentration of water. Adding salt or sugar to the water still should change the water’s movement. Let us know the results! Reply
This website is very new user friendly and good for students to get information for their assignments, it could be more helpful to maybe add some scientific references/terms and delve deep into osmosis and about the cell membrane of the gummy bear. Otherwise, overall, amazing! 😊 Reply
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