Experiment to Find Out Energy Content of Various Foods

Experiment to Find Out Energy Content of Various Foods

Problem

=======

For this piece of coursework, I intend to design and carry out an

experiment to find out the energy content of various foods.

Method

======

For my experiment I have chosen four different foods that I will test

for energy content, they are sweetened banana chips, toffee popcorn,

original flavour Hula Hoops and salted peanuts. I will use the

following apparatus and will set it up as shown:

For the experiment all I am going to have three variables, the food

that I use, temperature of the water and the weights of the food won't

all be equal, everything else will be kept the same, the distance of

the candle from the test tube, the amount of water in the test tubes,

etc.

I will fill the test tube with 25cm3 of water using a measuring

beaker. I will do three or four tests of each food as to obtain an

accurate result and a good average. For each specimen I will find the

starting weight, and the starting temperature of the water in the test

tube. For the actual experiment I will start off by attaching the food

to a spike and then setting it alight by the use of a candle. I will

need to make sure that the candle is not too far nor too close to the

test tube so as it won't affect the temperature of the water. As soon

as the piece of food is alight I will quickly move it over to under

the test tube so that not too much energy is lost during the period of

movement between the test tube and the candle. I will hold the item of

food under the test tube until the flame goes out, continuously

stirring the water so as I don't get what is called a thermocline

(when the water forms layers due to differences in temperature), with

a warm layer and a colder layer of water. Once the piece of food has