11/2011
INT1 Task 3
Does freezing popcorn yield more popcorn?
Project Design Plan.
This scientific experiment is to gauge the amount of kernels popped when the storage temperatures of the kernels are changed. Does freezing popcorn kernels for 24 hours yield more or less popped kernels than popcorn kernels stored at room temperature? By performing this experiment we can decide how to maximize our food potential. We will purchase six identical brands of popcorn from the local food store that have the same ingredients, weight and brand name. We will take three of the bags of popcorn kernels and store it in a standard household freezer for twenty four hours. The temperature
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Keep in mind that you must enter the amount of time on your microwave that you chose from your time testing trial. Do not use the popcorn button that is standard on most microwaves. It is important to test the time with one frozen and one shelf stored popcorn package. This will allow us to record the exact time needed to perform our test on the remaining bags of popcorn.
7. Now perform two trials of test with one bag of frozen popcorn kernels and one bag of room temperature popcorn. It is important to record the data off of each trial separately.
8. When finished recording your numbers from the two trail experiments take the average of each trial and compare the final results.
Reasoning of this design.
The brand of popcorn testing has proven to be inconsistent. Each major brand of popcorn claims to have the highest amount of popped kernels. We chose this method of experiment because we can control the variables of the experiment. By controlling the temperature we can determine which method will yield the most amount of popcorn instead of relying on which brand claims to have the most yield of popcorn or studies on brands. This experiment can be used on all brands as long as the brand name stays the same.
Sequence of Events.
Take each bag of popped popcorn and count the individual kernels that did not pop and record the data on the chart. Perform this for each
To make the results of the experiment valid four variables to take into account are if the freezer is the same temperature for both tests, the water is the same water just different temperatures, the ice cube trays are the same size, and finally both trays are in the freezer for the same amount of time.
Statistical analysis was performed with results as follows: the mean, or average number of candies per bag, was 55.648. The standard deviation, a measure of variance, was 2.8689. This means that the number of candies per bag can vary up to three candies. A histogram, a graph showing how the frequency of the data was distributed, was done to determine the characteristics of the data. The histogram appeared to be skewed to the left (negatively skewed). This means the data was not uniform.
His recipe included the use of a grill, a half-pint glass of popcorn and a frying pan that had been rubbed with lard or butter. He advised holding the pan over the fire whilst constantly stirring or shaking the corn and within a few minutes, the popcorn should have turned inside out to reveal the delicious white, fluffy centre. He also mentioned the addition of salt or sugar whilst it was still hot for added flavour. The issue with this particular method however seemed to be with the lard or butter. The butter would usually begin to burn before the pan reached a hot enough temperature and the lard would create popcorn that was covered in slime-like grease. It wasn’t until the latter portion of the 19th century that a more efficient way of popping popcorn was discovered. What were deemed to be “poppers” were actually boxes made of tight wire gauze and had long handles attached. They were designed to be held over an open flame. The design of poppers offered a number of benefits including the containment of popped kernels whilst also keeping any hands away from the heat source. Over the years, the popper became hugely popular and as a result a number of improvements were made to make it bigger and better than ever. Due to the improvements, popcorn became even more accessible to the masses of people wanting to get their hands on
The purpose of this experiment was to test multiple brands of popcorn under the same setting in order to conclude which one statistically popped the most kernels. I tested the butter flavor of Orville Redenbacher, Wal-mart’s Great Value brand, and Pop Weavers. The different bags of popcorn were popped in the same microwave for the same amount of time, 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Then, the popped corn was counted, as well as the un-popped kernels, in order to determine a ratio, and then I recorded the results in the data table. I repeated these steps two more times for a total of 3 trails for each brand. Then I compared the ratios of all the bags to determine which brand yielded the most popped corn. The statistical technique used to evaluate the data was to find a ratio between the number of kernels in the bottom of the bowl and the number of popped kernels. To find this, I divided the number of the actual popped corns by the total number of kernels left in the bottom of the bowl. The ratios and percent were then compared. Once all my results were in the data table, I averaged the 3 trials for each brand of popcorn.
Testable Question: Does name brand popcorn will have a better ability to pop than generic
Each brand was counted and recorded on the data sheet. I then took the amount of popped kernels and divided by the total kernels in each bag. After collecting the data from all three bags of each brand, I totaled all the popped kernels and divided by the total kernels overall for each brand which gave me the following results.
In this lab, M&Ms and Smarties will be compared in five different ways: mass, shell solubility, volume, density, and nutrition facts. For each comparison 10 Smarties will be used and 10 M&Ms will be used. This is to ensure that the results are more accurate, as each piece of candy is not the same size, weight etc… A total of 50
Responding: The Weight of the kernels in grams, the number of kernels in the bag, the weight of the plastic bag in grams.
are in excess of US$1 billion, and ALL STAR’s shares are traded publicly on the New
To improve the experiment, the methodology could be improved by having an efficient calorimeter to retain as much heat as possible, rather than just a tin can. Additionally, more trials for each of the experiments could be conducted to ensure correct and precise data is collected to determine more accurate conclusions.
The purpose of this experiment is to conduct what happens to gummy bears when we put them into different liquids. When we were done we gathered data and saw that the gummy bears ended up with different textures and sizes. There were only some minor differences. For water after a day, the length changed, the width, height, and mass. For salt water only the mass changed, before it was 2.6 and after it was 1.5 grams. The next liquid is sugar water, and for that liquid all the of the data changed. The length was 3 cm before, after it was 3.5 cm. The width of the gummy bear was 3 cm before, after it was 1 cm, and after it was 1.5 The height was 2 cm, and changed to 1 cm. Lastly is the mass, it was 2.6 and the after it changed to 5.1. The
After eating the cracker, the participant drank the cup with the odd number first. It was instructed to drink the beverage slowly, so that they can focus on the taste and other characteristics of the drink. After finishing the first drink, questions 7a, 7b, and 7c were answered on the Cola Rating Sheet. Next, the participants ate the second saltine cracker to clean their palate and prevent the carry-over effect. The second beverage was consumed in a slow motion in order to pay attention to the taste and compare it to the first beverage. The remaining questions 8a, 8b, 8c, and 9 were answered on the Cola Rating Sheet. Then, the professor revealed the correct answers on the projector screen and the participants discovered if their predictions on the Cola Rating Sheet were correct. Lastly, the professor collected all of the materials and surveys from the participants in the interest of seeing the gathered data from the
We also used refrigerator and heat bath to decrease and increase the temperature of potatoes. A knife was used to cut slices of potatoes, scale was used to measure the weight of potatoes so it does not affect the results, refrigerator and heat bath were used to change the temperature of potatoes ,hydrogen peroxide to show bubbling , stopwatch to measure the time. We had controls that were sliced potatoes at room temperature to minimize the effect of variables and to compare the control to the other variables used. Variables used were slice/smashing the potatoes and hot/cold
The sample used in this experiment is peanuts. Peanut probably originated in South America and spread by European explorers. Later, the peanuts spread to Asia, Africa and North America in 1700’s. The peanuts were not grown extensively during 1700’s and 1800’s. Peanuts were known as food for the poor at that time. After the Civil War, the demand of peanuts increased. Then, the peanut producing industry began to expand due to the development of equipment for production, harvesting and customers’ demand.
The purpose of this experiment will be to determine how temperature affects the growth of mold on wheat bread. The researchers choose this topic because she thinks it will be beneficial to find a way to keep food from molding. Determining how long bread can be stored before molding can help save money, prevent illness and preserve freshness. The question the researcher will attempt to answer is how freezing affects the rate of mold growth in wheat bread.