Energy from foods Scientific Report

Essay by maddybubbleJunior High, 8th gradeA, November 2014

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Energy to Burn

Introduction

Energy is power which may be translated into motion, overcoming resistance, or effecting physical change. Two major groups of energy include potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential energy is the stored energy of position possessed by an object. Some types of potential energy are gravitational, elastic and chemical energy. Kinetic energy is energy possessed by a moving object. Some types of kinetic energy include light, sound, kinetic, electrical and heat.

Food contains a type of chemical energy that we need to live, grow and move. Chemical energy is the energy in a substance that can be released by a chemical reaction. When people consume food, the body utilizes the chemical energy in the bonds of the food and transforms it into mechanical energy, a new form of chemical energy, or thermal energy, this is called energy transformation. Energy Tranformation is the process of changing energy from one form to another.

This process is happening all the time, both in the world and within people.

Aim: The purpose of this investigation was to find out the amount of chemical potential energy released from popcorn, wheat crackers and rice crackers to determine which sample would release the most potential energy.

Hypothesis: It was predicted that rice crackers would release the largest amount of potential energy and that popcorn kernels would release the least amount of potential energy.

Materials:

Safety glasses

Tap water

Taper

Matches

Thermometer

Heatproof mat

50ml measuring cylinder

Popcorn, Rice crackers, Wheat crackers

Retort stands

3 large test tubes

Tongs

Method:

Safety glasses were put on.

Heat proof mat was placed under retort stands

The weight of 10 popcorn kernels was measured and the results were divided by 10 to calculate the average weight of a single popcorn kernel. This method was repeated for the rice...