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Our fifth graders will be participating in the cookie stacking as part of their computer lab activities. There are seven different classes trying the project.

We are conducting the project as an experiment using the scientific method.

We visited a Drexel University website to help us review the scientific method. http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~bcb25/scimeth/intro1.htm

We then

Stated our Problem: How many Oreo cookies can we stack before the stack falls over?

Made Observations:

1. Each package seems to contain 45 cookies, based on the package information of 3 cookies per serving and 15 servings.

2. Each cookie is 2 inches in diameter.

3. The cookie is stamped with its name and that creates a rough surface which may aid the stacking by creating friction.

4. The top and bottom are not always aligned, which may make stacking difficult.

5. The filling is about 3/8 inch thick.

6. The filling is uneven.

Wrote a hypothesis:

We will be able to stack 30 cookies before they fall over. (Each individual student made his or her own hypothesis.)

We have conducted the experiment. The highest stack was 33 and the smallest was 8 cookies.

We are currently checking and analyzing our results (finding the average) and reporting our results.

Part of the reporting will be creating graphs using Microsoft Excel.

We have used Excel to find the average, mean, median and mode.

Lynda Eckert, Computer teacher, Oley Valley Elementary School

leckert@ovsdpa.org