Ade+A13

=** THE STUDY OF CHEWING GUM, ITS FLAVORINGS, AND FLAVOR REACTIONS **= =**Adena A**= =**2012-2013**=

=**ABSTRACT**=

===**The purpose of this study was to determine what brand of gum had the longest flavor duration. Chewing gum has been used since the Neolithic Period, and its main ingredients are natural or artificial resin or sap, artificial flavors, polyisobutylene rubber, chicle, and powdered sugar. In the first experiment, chewing gum was chewed until the flavor could no longer be tasted, then the time (sec) was averaged from three rounds of testing and recorded. It was found that the Orbit Cinnamint flavor lasted the longest. This is because cinnamon is a strong spice, and mint is also a very strong gum flavor, and the two combined result with the strongest and longest lasting flavor. **===

= = = = =** EXPERIMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE EXPERIMENTS **= ===An improvement in one of the experiments in this study could be to have used a more efficient utensil to remove the sticks of gum from the beakers of root beer. Using an inefficient utensil resulted in an over-soak, which might have effected the data. Also, throughout the experiments, it would have been more efficient if the same helpers were used to chew gum. This is because people have different taste buds which can result in an inaccurate data.===