Driving question : How much energy is there in food?
This is an activity in which different student groups can investigate different items of food. A sample of a food of known mass is burned, heating a calorimeter. Students record the temperature of water heated in the colorimeter, calculate the energy transferred to the water, and hence estimate the energy present per unit mass of food.
Topic: Thermochemistry,
Concepts: Biological molecules, Energy, Energy content, Energy transformation, Heat,
Grade level: High School (14-18 years), Middle School (11-14 years),
Activity type: Data logging,
Sensors: Temperature sensor,
Interface requirements: Single analog sensor input,
The Student Worksheet gives investigation instructions for students.
The Teacher Notes includes teacher commentaries such as didactical approach, exemplary questions, assignments and data analysis.
The Science Background describes the scientific principles that underlie the activity.
Coach Activity/Result file can be opened in the Coach 7 Program. This requires Coach 7 to be installed on your computer.
