Building+a+calorimeter+to+measure+the+energy+intake+from+calories+in+foods

__**//Building a calorimeter to measure the energy intake from calories in foods//** __
 * Purpose: ** The purpose of this lesson is to learn how calories are measured in the foods we eat. Students will think and act like scientists to design their own experiment using a calorimeter to measure the energy intake from the calories in potato chips.
 * Objectives: **
 * Students will build a calorimeter to measure the energy intake from calories in potato chips.
 * Students will perform calculations to determine average calories per gram in a potato chip.
 * Students will share their calculations and then analyze the class data of the average calories.
 * Action Plan: **
 * Before class, attach a picture of one of the food items from the following website on their table and the number of grams of the foods under their chair ( []).
 * In a whole class discussion, ask students to give examples of high versus low calorie foods.
 * Then ask students to take a guess on how many grams of the food on their table will equal 37 grams or 200 calories of potato chips. After students made their guess, ask them to get up and look under their chair to see if there guesses were close to the actual number.
 * I will then display a nutrition label of a bag of potato chips on the interactive white board. I will show students that on each nutrition label the number of grams per serving and the number of calories are noted. The calories are the quantity of energy in one serving. I will then ask students:
 * “//How is the food-energy value determined?”//
 * “//How much energy does 200 calories actually represent?”//
 * After students talk about their ideas to the whole-class, I will explain to students that the quantity of energy contained in a particular food can be determined by carefully burning a known mass of the item under controlled conditions and measuring how much thermal energy is released.
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Materials: **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">A bag of potato chips
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tea candles
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Matches
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Soda can or Styrofoam cup
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Thermometer
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Stirrer
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lab Procedure: **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the next investigation, I will explain to students that they will determine the energy contained in a potato chip. They will use the candle-burning apparatus to design a procedure to determine the energy contained in this particular snack. Students will work in groups of four. Before stating the investigation, they will have to complete the following steps:
 * Write a complete procedure for the investigation.
 * Sketch the laboratory setup (calorimeter, potato chip, candle, etc.).
 * Construct a data table to construct all necessary measurements and observations for two separate trials.
 * My approval before starting the lab experiment
 * I will guide students in obtaining an appropriate lab procedure and while they are performing the lab. I will also hand out the lab report shown below, which will have appropriate data tables, sample calculations, and questions, which students can start in class and finish at home.
 * [[file:Potato chip energy lab report.doc]]

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Homework:** Students will complete their lab report with the purpose, complete procedure, apparatus sketch, data tables, calculations, and completed questions. One member of the lab group will demonstrate their calculations via screencast and upload it onto the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Worldhungerunit wikispace for the entire class to see. They can compare calculations and values. //Students will visit the class wikispace for more instructions and tutorials about screencast.//

media type="file" key="Potato_chip_lab_report.swf"